Employee Benefits Issues in California Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Same-Sex Marriage Decisions
Polsinelli Podcast - Defense of Marriage Act
Supreme Court’s Rulings On Same-Sex Marriage Spark Many Questions On Employee Benefits
Viewer's Guide to Gay Marriage Oral Arguments
Employers have been considering the impact on benefit programs, including the qualified retirement plans, of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision recognizing the validity of same sex marriages. In September, 2013, the IRS issued...more
Following the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, the IRS announced in Revenue Ruling 2013-17 that lawfully married same-sex couples would be treated as married for all Internal Revenue Code purposes. On...more
On April 4, 2014, the Department of the Treasury issued its long-awaited supplemental guidance on when and how tax-qualified retirement plans (including 401(k) plans) must comply with Windsor v. United States, in which the...more
On April 4, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2014-19, which provides a series of Q&As regarding the application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor and the IRS’s prior...more
As the April 15th filing deadline approaches, there are important changes to note. When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on June 26, 2013, a number of important tax issues were raised...more
I. A Look Back At 2013 Tax Matters, “Gangnam Style” - A. Some Random Observations. - 1. When we penned last year’s Update for you, dear reader, this fair country of ours stood six feet from the edge of the “...more
Since the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor holding the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA") to be unconstitutional, and the related guidance issued thereafter by the Internal Revenue Service certain questions...more
The Virginia Department of Taxation recently announced that same-sex couples married in another state must file separate Virginia income tax returns even though they file a federal return as a married couple....more
The California state legislature recently enacted a law that may affect the taxation of benefits an employer provides to same-sex domestic partners in the state. California AB 362 excludes from gross income for California...more
The Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor have issued recent guidance to clarify the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in U.S. v. Windsor. The new guidance addresses some of the implications of the federal...more
The recent United States Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor invalidated Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which had defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The ruling greatly expands the...more
On September 23, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2013-61, which provides optional administrative procedures that employers may use to correct overpayments of employment taxes paid for 2013 and prior...more
Notice 2013-61 provides alternative administrative procedures for reporting income and FICA tax adjustments in response to the Windsor decision and Revenue Ruling 2013-17. On September 24, the U.S. Department of the...more
As promised, the Internal Revenue Service has prescribed special procedures that employers may use in order to retroactively correct FICA withholding and payment following the Supreme Court's decision earlier this year in...more
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor and supplemental guidance in Revenue Ruling 2013-17, the Internal Revenue Service has issued Notice 2013-61, providing optional special administrative...more
In Revenue Ruling 2013-17 (Ruling), the IRS stated that for purposes of federal tax laws, same-gender couples who have been legally married in a jurisdiction (domestic or foreign) that allows same-gender marriage will be...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) yesterday announced that same-sex couples legally married in a jurisdiction that recognizes their marriage will be treated as married for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security...more
Plan sponsors will need to take prospective and, possibly, retroactive action in order to ensure compliance with the guidance. On August 29, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)...more
Here's something that should be at the top of your to do list on this Monday morning: make sure your benefits and other employee policies are in compliance with new guidance from the IRS that becomes effective today relating...more
In 1996, as states were beginning to consider the concept of same-sex marriage, and before any state had acted to permit it, Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act. Section 3 of DOMA defined the term “marriage” as “a...more
Following up on our recent e-blast on IRS guidance re: federal taxation for same-sex spouses (link), Rhode Island’s Division of Taxation has clarified that all same-sex married couples will be treated as “married” for all...more
Federal Agencies Respond to Supreme Court’s DOMA Ruling - In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down part of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), federal agencies are starting to respond with new...more
On August 29, 2013, IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2013-17 which clarified that for federal income tax purposes, the marital status of a same-sex couple is based on the state law or foreign law (e.g. Canada) where the marriage was...more
Earlier this summer we sent you an Alert concerning the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic ruling (United States v. Windsor) regarding same-sex marriage. This decision declared, as unconstitutional, Section 3 of the federal...more
In recently issued Revenue Ruling 2013-17, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that all legal same-sex marriages will be recognized for federal tax purposes. The revenue ruling was accompanied...more