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The IRS and Medicare to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages

All same-sex couples who are legally married will be recognized as such for federal tax purposes, even if the state where they live does not recognize their union.

Same-sex married couples will be allowed to file joint federal tax returns, the same as married heterosexual couples, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday.

The new policy, a response to a Supreme Court ruling in June that overturned a key provision in the Defense of Marriage Act, allows same-sex married couples to claim marriage-related exemptions, credits and deductions even if they live in jurisdictions that don’t recognize gay unions. Like heterosexual spouses, gay couples will be required to declare “married filing jointly” or “married filing separately.”

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement that the move “assures legally married same-sex couples that they can move freely throughout the country knowing that their federal filing status will not change.”

Elizabeth Daigneau is GOVERNING's managing editor.
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