Tuesday, March 22, 2005

DoMA Tax Burden

One of this tax season’s angles that many media will cover is the additional onus on married same-sex couples. Because of the DoMA, the feds, including the IRS, don’'t dare recognize such marriages.

Meanwhile, in Massachusetts (and civil-union state Vermont), these couples can file their state tax forms together. To meet federal tax requirements, a married gay couple in Boston will have to create a phantom federal form as though they were married, a form they can'’t file. However, they need these figures to calculate portions of their Massachusetts taxes. Then, they fill out two federal tax forms for that portion.

Expect to see figures soon from couples and accountants about how much the DoMA penalizes these married couples. It is likely to be a big hit for those with investments.

By the bye, TurboTax is one tax package that has updated its state modules for Vermont and Massachusetts to accommodate their federal refusal to allow married filing by these couples.

Those couples can get tax tips and procedures from the state tax office and a few newspaper columns, such as this one.

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