Recent Headline: New bill would let same-sex couples claim pre-Windsor refunds
An article by Michael Cohn published June 24 2019 by Accounting Today magazine quotes "H.R. 3299, the Promoting Respect for Individuals’ Dignity and Equality (PRIDE) Act of 2019, was introduced this month on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, and would update the Tax Code to allow same-sex couples who married before the Supreme Court struck down DOMA in the landmark 2013 ruling in U.S. v. Windsor, to claim their tax refunds."
What does this mean? Well, to put it in layman's terms: gay couples who were legally married by their state's law will be permitted to amend their tax returns to claim refunds that the IRS previously disallowed due to tax language requiring "married" status to be a "husband" and "wife".
Why does that change things? Well, normally you can only claim a refund 3 years back, so the deadline for many of these couples is now extended far beyond that 3 years.
When was gay marriage legal? The first same-sex marriage was allowed in the United States in 2004. This could result in 14 years of IRS tax refunds for couples that were legally married in that state.
Where are these laws relevant? Massachusetts as far back as 2004, California in 2008, then followed Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, Washington D.C. in 2009. Add New York in 2011 and Maine, Maryland & Washington State in 2012. Soon after Rhode Island, Delaware, and Minnesota adopted laws in 2013. Same sex marriage became legal in all 50 dates in 2015. In short, every legally married gay couple may be able to amend their tax returns and file "married filing jointly", which according to The Joint Committee on Taxation would result in about $57 million dollars' worth of tax returns from the IRS if the measure becomes law.
Regardless of your religious, political, or sexual preferences, we'd like to hear from you and what your thoughts are on this topic: message Morales Services bookkeeping and tax professionals at 352-358-1413 or comment below.
