April 15 has come and gone, and even though many same-sex couples can now pay as “Married,” many others, especially parents, still do not get the family tax benefits of different-sex married couples. A new campaign from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force hopes to change that.
I dislike filling out tax forms, and am lucky to have a spouse who actually kind of enjoys it. (She was a financial advisor for a while.) This year is tricky for us, however, since we are married in our state and must now fill out federal tax forms as “married” for the first time. In a way, it’s easier than doing the three federal forms we had to fill out in previous years — one for each of us as “single” and a “dummy” married one that we used to complete our state (married) form — but it raises its own set of questions. For same-sex couples married but living in states that don’t recognize their marriages, the questions may be even more complicated. Luckily, there’s help out there.
Several announcements last week made it clear that same-sex couples who are legally married will be recognized as married by the U.S. government — even if they do not reside in a state that recognizes same-sex marriages. That’s generally good news for same-sex parents — although there are still a few things to keep in mind.
Complete the sentence (leave a comment): The thing I dislike most about tax time is . . . Me? Checking that damn “Single” box, when I’m not. Followed closely by the income tax Helen pays on the health insurance coverage that her company provides to me, and the lack of spousal IRA contributions for same-sex
