Same-Sex Marriage

DOMA Repeal’s Effect on Employers

Prior to the repeal of the Defense of Marriage act, many large employers elected to extend benefits traditionally reserved for married employees to employees in same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships and civil unions. Unfortunately for those couples, under the Defense of Marriage Act, the Federal Government did not extend the tax-free treatment of benefits to those couples. Benefits such as health insurance, life insurance, and other benefits provided and exempted from tax under §125 Cafeteria Plans were considered taxable to the employee, and therefore subject to social security, medicare, and unemployment taxes. With the repeal of DOMA, these forward thinking companies [...]

December 18th, 2013|Business Tax|Comments Off on DOMA Repeal’s Effect on Employers

Arizona Shares information about Same-Sex Couple Tax Filings

From the Arizona Department of Revenue: Earlier this year, the IRS issued a ruling allowing all married same-sex couples to file a joint federal income tax return, regardless of the laws of the state in which the couple resides.  The Arizona Constitution defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. A same sex couple who was married in another state or country but who resides in Arizona is therefore required to file separate Arizona income tax returns as single or, if qualified, head of household. This creates a complication because the income reported on the federal return [...]

October 14th, 2013|Personal Tax|Comments Off on Arizona Shares information about Same-Sex Couple Tax Filings

DOMA & Taxes

In their recent decision, the Supreme Court found that a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violated the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution as applied to same sex couples legally wedded under state law. The decision means that same-sex married couples will now enjoy many federal tax-related benefits, including income tax, estate & gift, tax-free fringe benefits, and more.  Employers may need to prepare for major changes in the treatment of employees in same-sex marriages. […]

June 28th, 2013|Business Tax, Personal Tax|Comments Off on DOMA & Taxes
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