So far we’ve been hearing about the less-than complimentary responses to those who are trying to get married and those who are newly married. Some good news to lighten the load: with the Supreme Court decision that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Section 3 was unconstitutional, a whole lot of important rulings came back into play. The IRS, our dear old friends, recently announced it would recognize same-sex marriages for Federal income tax purposes and now these married couples can file amended income tax returns for the last three years, amended estate tax returns, apply for spousal benefits under Social Security, and review income tax returns for tax deductibility of IRA contributions. These rulings will apply to couples married in states that recognized their civil unions even if they no longer live in a state that recognizes their marriage.
This is a very important tax savings for same-sex married couples. If you are a married couple, you should review your tax filings for the last several years after your marriage and see if there may be some tax refunds coming your way.
(Advisor Solutions, Volume 6, Issue 2, Q2 2014)
