Joseph Morrissey is a law professor at Stetson. He is also a gay male and a willing fighter for equality for gay couples. His case is Morrissey v. United States, 2017 WL 4229063, a decision  by the 11th Circuit. The…

Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn) has introduced H.R. 948 which would, among other things, offer a 15% tax credit for mortgage interest paid. Providing a 15% tax credit will benefit lower income taxpayers who do not itemize. The credit would be…

In the aftermath of the Windsor decision, many of us pondered how to apply Windsor retroactively to tax years that were closed under a statute of limitations. The issue was of particular importance to the calculation of gift and estate…

A complaint has been filed in federal district court (Middle District of Florida) by a gay man who, with his committed partner of many years, conceived a child with the use of an egg donor and a surrogate. The case…

Proposed Regs that explain the IRS position on same-sex marriages have been published for comment. You can read the proposed regs here: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/10/23/2015-26890/definition-of-terms-relating-to-marital-status The proposed regs reaffirm all of the positions taken in Revenue Ruling 2013-17. Point one: All marriages…

Mortgage Interest Deductions for Unmarried Couples: Some of you may remember my earlier blogs on mortgage interest deductions for same-sex couples. You can read one of the at http://lawscuedustage.wpengine.com/same-sex-tax/bad-news-for-same-sex-couples-with-high-mortgages/ The general rule is that an unmarried individual can deduct interest…

After Obergefell, all states must recognize marriages of same-sex spouses. Presumably the effect of the opinion is retroactive. So, should spouses who have been filing state taxes as single amend their past returns and file as married? Answer: It depends.…

I just finished doing a webinar for ABA Section on Real Property Trusts and Estates focusing on issues raised by the Supreme Court’s ruling in the same-sex marriage case, Obergefell v Hodges. George Karibjanian of Boca Raton was my co-panelist.…

Please forgive me for not posting for a while. I have written posts, but they have almost always become irrelevant in a few days. That is because the world of marriage equality changes daily. On Monday, as anyone who reads…

Notice 2014-19: How does Windsor affect Retirement Plans?  See my guest op-ed on TaxProf  Blog here: http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2014/04/cain-herzig-.html