IRS Formally Recognizes Same-Sex Marriage

Today, in a historic joint ruling, the U.S. Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recognized legally-married, same-sex couples for all federal tax purposes.  Revenue Ruling 2013-17 was issued, and the ruling provides the following language:

"For Federal tax purposes, the terms “spouse,” “husband and wife,” “husband,” and “wife” include an individual married to a person of the same sex if the individuals are lawfully married under state law, and the term “marriage” includes such a marriage between individuals of the same sex."

Further, the ruling held as follows:

"For Federal tax purposes, the Service adopts a general rule recognizing a marriage of same-sex individuals that was validly entered into in a state whose laws authorize the marriage of two individuals of the same sex even if the married couple is domiciled in a state that does not recognize the validity of same-sex marriages."

For Wisconsin, the ruling does not apply to couples registered as domestic partners, unless the couple was legally married in a jurisdiction that recognized same-sex marriage.

This ruling follows in the footsteps of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions related to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  The decisions related to DOMA mandate that the IRS recognize same-sex marriage for federal tax purposes.  Revenue Ruling 2013-17 formally implements this drastic change.

The change will affect countless tax provisions. To begin, the ruling means that same-sex couples must file annual income tax returns as “married filing jointly” or “married filing separately.”