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IL: Couples in Civil Unions Face Tax Hassles

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

Illinois same-sex couples in civil unions are discovering an unpleasant quirk of their new status. The state of Illinois will make them do their federal taxes twice. Illinois’ civil union boosts drudgery at tax time, and it probably won’t save same-sex couples any money.

Here’s why: Illinois law requires that same-sex couples in civil unions be treated as if they were married for tax purposes.

The state income tax form requires that they transfer numbers from their federal income tax form. To produce the proper numbers, civil union couples must fill out a federal tax form as either married filing jointly or married filing separately, and submit it with their state forms.

Full Story from STL Today

Click here for gay wedding resources in Illinois.

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Tags: civil unions, gay couples, illinois, taxes

Marriage Equality Bans Cost Gay Couples Up to $6K a Year

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Same-sex spouses are paying as much as $6,000 a year in extra taxes because the federal government doesn’t recognize gay marriage, according to an analysis conducted for CNNMoney by tax specialists.

While marriage provides tax benefits for many heterosexual couples, same-sex families don’t enjoy the same perks because they are not allowed to file their federal returns jointly.

The imbalance persists despite increasing acceptance of gay marriage as a legal right. More than 12 states now grant full or partial marriage rights to same-sex couples, and a recent Gallup poll showed — for the first time — that a majority of Americans favor gay marriage.

Full Story from CNN

Click here for gay wedding resources.

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Tags: ban, couples, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, taxes

Tax Hassles For Married Gay Couples

Friday, November 11th, 2011

After 13 years together, Maggy Porter and Arlene Bronfman began to talk last June about marriage when New York State passed its Marriage Equality Act. Until, that is, the New York-based couple visited their accountant.

“What was supposed to be this way of expressing our love was going to seriously confuse our taxes, investments, estate planning, really all our finances,” says Porter, a registered nurse. “Our CPA is great, but even he seems pretty bewildered. We weren’t sure how to proceed.”

In the end, romance won out over finances, and Porter and Bronfman plan to marry in March despite the financial complications and expected tax hassles.

Full Story from Reuters

Click here for gay wedding resources.

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Tags: Gay Marriage, marriage equality, taxes

AK: Tax Lawsuit Threatens Marriage Equality Ban

Sunday, October 23rd, 2011

It is a simple case involving property taxes in Anchorage, Alaska, and it is certainly getting Tony Perkin’s panties in a twist. The Alaska Constitution has some pretty strong equal protection guarantees and an amendment that defines marriage as being only between a man and a woman. Still, it was the case of the property tax exemption that could trip this one up.

Gayle Schuh and Julie Schmidt are both in their sixties and separated by about five years. Schmidt is 67, and if the two could be married, they would be entitled to a $150,000 property tax exemption for those who are over the age of 65. Because they are not married, the exemption is only $127,000, or half of what their home is worth. That difference costs them $359.

Well, they challenged this in court, and the court ruled that any laws that benefit married couples discriminate on the basis of sex.

Full Story from Lez Get Real

Click here for gay wedding resources in Alaska.

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Tags: alaska, Gay Marriage, lawsuit, taxes

AK: Tax Law Ruling May Have Implications for Anti Marriage Equality Law

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

A seemingly insignificant property tax case in Anchorage, Alaska may have a profound effect on one of the techniques used to combat marriage equality. Alaska has a marriage amendment in its Constitution which provides that a marriage can only be between a man and a woman. The Alaska Constitution also has strong equal protection guarantees. The tension between these concepts is played out in the case of Julie Shmidt et.al, v The State of Alaska and Municipality of Anchorage.

The plaintiffs are three same sex couples with similar stories. Here is one. Julie Schmidt was 67 and her partner Gayle Schuh was 62. They owned a home together. The assessed value of the home is $254,200. If they were married they would have been entitled to a $150,000 property tax exemption because Ms. Schmidt is over 65. Since they were not married, the exclusion is limited to $127,100 (half the assessed value). That cost them $359.31.

The case makes an interesting read, although it is on what I call the lawyerly side. The bottom line is that the couples all won including one couple where the partner who was over 65 did not have any ownership at all in the house. The reason they won is what is interesting and might have profound consequences for marriage equality. The Court ruled that because of the marriage amendment, any law that benefits married couples facially discriminates on the basis of sex.

Full Story from Forbes

Click here for gay wedding resources. in Alaska

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Tags: alaska, ban, marriage equality, ruling, taxes

NY: Taxes The Least Romantic Part of Marriage Equality

Saturday, August 6th, 2011

The ugly reality of partial equality is setting in for newly-married couples in New York. They’ve got the girl, but many of the other benefits that come with declaring your love for the government to hear are still miles away. Due to DOMA, married same-sex couples will continue to be treated as single filers by the IRS and will face significant hurdles in the already arduous tax-filing process — even as New York begins to allow married couples to file as such.

Though Obama refuses to back DOMA and has directed federal agencies to extend all possible benefits to same-sex couples, even the HRC admits that the IRS doesn’t have much of a choice — because while DOMA is still in existence, “all possible benefits” just isn’t much.

Though gay couples can file as married in New York, they wil be required to fill out additional sets of forms for federal tax returns. Extra “dummy” copies take time to figure out (consider the tax code) or an extra $300-$400 dollars if you hire and accountant. You’re also essentially lying to the IRS, although that’s what they’re asking you to do.

Full Story from Autostraddle

Click here for gay wedding resources in New York.

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Tags: Gay Marriage, new york, taxes

NY: What Marriage Means for Gay Couples’ Taxes

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Now that gay marriage is legal in New York, legally wed couples will be subject to new state tax rules, which affect everything from income and sales taxes to estate planning.

While New York recognized same-sex unions performed elsewhere before the state started issuing marriage licenses of its own last month, that recognition did not extend to tax matters. Now it does.

The new tax rules, in fact, apply to all legally married gay couples who are living in New York, even if they were married outside the state.

Full Story from The New York Times

Click here for gay wedding resources in New York.

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Tags: Gay Marriage, new york, taxes

IL: Tax Trouble for Gay Couples in Civil Unions?

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Opponents of full marriage equality for same-sex couples often ask why the LGBT community can’t simply be happy with separate institutions and groupings of rights like civil unions and domestic partnerships.

Illinois recently became one such state to move to offer statewide protections supposedly equal, but separate, to marriage with the passage of the ‘Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act.’ The act reads broadly about what it provides for same-sex couples, stating:

“This Act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes, which are to provide adequate procedures for the certification and registration of a civil union and provide persons entering into a civil union with the obligations, responsibilities, protections, and benefits afforded or recognized by the law of Illinois to spouses.” (750 ILCS 75/5)

Full Story from Pam’s House Blend

Click here for gay marriage resources in Illinois.

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Tags: civil unions, illinois, irs, taxes

If Churches Play Politics, They Should Pay Taxes

Saturday, June 11th, 2011

I have written in recent weeks about the anti-gay marriage amendment that Minnesota’s state GOP placed on their 2012 ballot.

Critics have seen it as a particularly blatant attempt to write Minnesota off President Obama’s 2012 win column by offering a tempting carrot to draw out the evangelical vote – at the expense of an apparently disposable minority.

Remember that same-sex marriage is already prohibited in Minnesota by statute. So the truth is there’s just no way to talk about this unnecessary amendment other than to call it what it is: a political ploy wrapped inside an anti-gay attack. But the state’s most prominent conservatives get very upset when you call it that.

Full Story from Irish Central

Click here for gay marriage resources.

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Tags: churches, gay rights, politics, taxes

US: Washington Representative Wants to Introduce Tax Parity Bill for Samne Sex Couples

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

The sponsor of legislation that would ensure tax equity for same-sex couples receiving employer-provided health benefits envisions upcoming tax reform legislation as a potential vehicle for passage.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), the sponsor of the Tax Parity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, said in an interview with the Washington Blade that he sees an opportunity to move his legislation forward when Congress takes up planned legislation for tax reform. “It will be easy to put it in some tax bill along the way,” McDermott said. “It won’t be a standalone bill.”

Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, has said he wants to address tax reform during this Congress and has held hearings on the issue, although the time for when the panel will take up the larger bill is still unknown.

Full Story from the Washington Blade

Click here for gay marriage resources.

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Tags: gay couples, house of representatives, taxes