IRS Issues Notice to Correct Overpayment of Taxes for Same Sex Spouses
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Wednesday, October 9, 2013 |
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The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) issued a guidance (Notice 2013-61) to allow employers and employees to make claims for refunds or adjustments of overpayments of Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes and Federal income tax withholding (employment taxes) with respect to benefits provided to and remuneration paid to same-sex spouses resulting from the Supreme Court decision United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___, 133 S.Ct. 2675 (2013).
A number of income tax and employment tax provisions provide for exclusions from gross income and wages, respectively, for certain benefits provided to the spouse of an employee. As a result, employers withheld and paid employment taxes with respect to certain benefits provided to the same-sex spouse of an employee because the marriage was not recognized for purposes of the Code, and the benefits were not treated as excludable from gross income or wages for Federal income or employment tax purposes, respectively. Employers may also have withheld and paid employment taxes on amounts paid for services performed by an individual in the employ of the individual’s same-sex spouse without applying the employment tax exceptions for certain remuneration paid to spouses.
The IRS ruling does not extend to registered domestic partnerships. For federal tax purposes the terms "spouse," "husband and wife," "husband," and "wife"’ do not include individuals who have entered into a registered domestic partnership, civil union, or other similar formal relationship recognized under state law that is not denominated as a marriage under the laws of that state, and the term "marriage" does not include such formal relationships.
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