The U.S. Department of Treasury and the IRS have ruled that same sex-couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize same sex marriages, will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. However, couples who have a registered domestic partnership, civil union, or similar formal relationship recognized under state law do not fall under this ruling. This ruling comes after the Supreme Court invalidated a key provision of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA.
In these states, same-sex married couples can file their state income tax return as married:
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
In these states, each individual in a same-sex marriage must file as if they are single. These states either do not recognize same-sex marriage or do not conform to federal tax law in this area. In some cases, the state has a particular form or schedule to make the adjustments from the federal return. In other cases, creating the state return may require creating a pro-forma federal return:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- Ohio
The following states have no income tax or, in the cases of Tennessee and New Hampshire, only tax interest and dividends and don’t distinguish between single and married taxpayers. Thus, there is no issue regarding how same-sex couples are treated:
- Alaska
- Florida
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- Wyoming
Given that state legislation and/or court decisions can affect which of the above categories a state might fall, you will want to check your state government website to verify the most current information.