from tucsoncitizen.com
Few taxpayers look forward to tax season, but the annual obligation is particularly laborious for tens of thousands of same-sex couples who live in states that recognize gay marriage or civil unions.
Some have to put together four tax returns. Others have to prepare five. Preparation fees can cost thousands of dollars, and refunds may be delayed for months.
The reason: Most states that recognize same-sex marriage or domestic partners allow couples to file a joint state tax return. State tax returns, though, are based on the taxpayer’s federal tax return. And because the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage, these couples can’t file jointly with the IRS.
“It’s really a complicated affair because of DOMA,” says Melba Abreu, chief financial officer for a non-profit in Boston. Abreu, 56, and her longtime partner, Beatrice Hernandez, 50, were married in 2004. They file a joint tax return with Massachusetts, Abreu says, but when it comes to their federal tax returns, “Our marital status is completely erased.”
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For purposes of pass travel, my company lets me add my same-sex domestic partner to my flight benefits the same way I could add a wife. Except they tax us for using them for him, because the company considers his benefits a “gift.” A couple years ago, he bought a full-fare ticket using a discount just for employees and their family members, which saved us a little bit of money. Until we found out that the taxes we paid for the privilege of using the benefit (which an opposite-sex spouse would not pay) actually increased the price of his ticket — it would have cost him less NOT to use the discount. “Separate but Equal” is a failed ideology — how may times does this country have to learn that?
Thanks for your comment, but I’m sorry to hear about your situation — so unfair