Military Same-Sex Spouses Eligible for Benefits Today (UPDATED)

Today the same-sex spouses of military service members become eligible to receive a range of federal benefits including military I.D. cards, healthcare coverage, housing allowances, and survivor benefits.

Military Same-Sex Spouses Eligible for Benefits Today
Human Rights Campaign | September 3, 2013

---

UPDATE: Unless you‘re a member of the National Guard in Texas or Mississippi, who are denying benefits—or making them hard to get—because of their states‘ gay-marriage bans.

Texas, Miss. National Guards Won't Give Same-Sex Benefits at Some Sites, Cite Gay-Marriage Ban
Washington Post | September 3. 2013

Treasury and IRS Announce That All Legal Same-Sex Marriages Will Be Recognized For Federal Tax Purposes;

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today ruled that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. The ruling applies regardless of whether the couple lives in a jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriage or a jurisdiction that does not recognize same-sex marriage.

This ruling is goes A LOT further than most people expected. However, it would be an administrative nightmare for the IRS to maintain different rules for different jurisdictions, so the rationale makes perfect sense from an efficiency viewpoint. The other surprising development was the ability for same-sex couples to file amended returns for the past three years (or the typical statute of limitations for such claims).

I don‘t know about most folks, but the amended returns came as quite a pleasant surprise to me. My wife and I will be completing our amended return over the Labor Day weekend so we‘re ready when the September 16th filing window opens.

Thanks once again, Edie Windsor!

Revenue Ruling IR-2013-17
FAQs for Same-Sex Couples