President Obama and Attorney General Holder have announced that they will stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court. But, they also say that executive agencies will continue to enforce the law. What does this mean for taxpayers…

President Obama and Attorney General Holder say they will no longer defend Section 3 of DOMA in cases currently being litigated in federal court. But that does not mean that DOMA is gone. The statement by Attorney General Holder goes…

The IRS has revised Publication 555, which describes how the community property rules can affect the income tax reporting of couples who are subject to such rules. Here’s what the publication says on page 2: Nevada, Washington, and California domestic…

Many employers include the same-sex partner or spouse of an employee in their health insurance plans. But the federal taxation of these benefits is controlled by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), a federal law that is subject to the provisions…

CCA 201021050 announced that the IRS will recognize the application of Poe v Seaborn to Registered Domestic Partners (RDPs) in community property states. Under Seaborn, partners are required to split their community income 50/50, no matter who earns the income.…

Many tax return preparers are dealing with community property issues for same-sex RDPs for the first time. Questions arise daily. A recent pressing question is: how do you report income earned by a partner in a non-community property state if…

Michael Asimow, Professor of Law Emeritus, UCLA, and Visiting Professor, Stanford Law School, sent me an interesting inquiry the other day. It involves the question of how Same-Sex Married Persons (SSMPs) in California should file their state income tax returns.…

For tax year 2010, RDPs and SSM couples in community property states (California, Washington, and Nevada are the only states affected) must file their federal tax returns by splitting community income and deductions. There are substantive and procedural questions that…

The National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina E. Olson, has released her 2010 Report to Congress. Included in her list of Most Serious Problems is a six page discussion of the tax problems faced by same-sex Registered Domestic Partners. Most Serious Problem…

Scott James, writing for the New York Times, January 14, 2011, headlines his piece “For Same-Sex Couples, a Tax Victory That Doesn’t Feel Like One.” He’s talking, of course, about the requirement that California, Washington, and Nevada RDPs must split…