Are the expenses incurred for gender reassignement surgery deductible medical expenses under §213 of the Internal Revenue Code or are they nondeductible expenses for cosmetic surgery? Rhiannon O’Donnabhain thought so and so she deducted them in 2001. The IRS denied…
If DOMA is repealed or ruled unconstitutional, then same-sex marriages will have to be given the same effect as opposite sex marriages. But what about registered same sex couples in those states that recognize the relationship as a marital equivalent,…
The recently issued IRS guidance for community property partners and same-sex spouses in California (and partners in Washington and Nevada) clarified an important substantive question that affects couples in all 16 jurisdictions where same-sex relationships are recognized. If under state…
This is not a tax case. It is a case involving a same-sex couple and their adoption, in New York, of a child who had been born in Louisiana. The couple requested that the child’s Louisiana birth certificate be changed…
In the past few weeks, the IRS has issued two pronouncements on this question, both concluding that if the receipts are community income under the applicable state law then they will be taxed as community income at the federal level.…
I am sad to report that Paula Ettelbrick, long time legal crusader for LGBT rights, died early Friday morning. The email from Marianne and Suzanne was the first one I read Friday morning. I spent much of my day trying to…
Today the IRS released a Q & A document addressing a number of questions that have been asked by same-sex couples in the three recognition community property states, California, Washington, and Nevada. Here is a sample: Q-1: How do registered…
The annual Lavender Law conference was held in Los Angeles, September 8-10. Lavender Law is an essential gathering for anyone who wants to stay up to date on key developments in LGBT law. I participated in a number of tax…
Section 36C of the Internal Revenue Code authorizes an adoption credit for qualified adoption expenses paid by a taxpayer to adopt an eligible child. Many lesbian couples incur adoption expenses when they have children. One partner is the birth mother…
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has issued its initial guidance for same-sex married couples who have tax questions. My colleague, Professor Art Leonard, New York Law School, has blogged about this here. To link to the…
