A Taxpayer’s Guide to the Fall of DOMA

The Supreme Court appears ready to rule on the constitutionality of DOMA with a ruling expected as early as June 2013. A favorable ruling will result in a number of tax and estate planning changes for Registered Domestic Partners and Same Sex Married couples.

Discussed below are some of the issues that you as a same sex couple will need to consider. Every situation is different and what is a positive change for one couple could be negative for another.

Most of the changes involve future actions or results.

But there is one area where you may need to go ahead and take action before a decision on DOMA is reached:

If you can claim a refund for 2009 income or estate taxes paid, you would need to file the appropriate forms with the IRS by April 15, 2013, to preserve your right to claim that refund (Protective Claim for Refund, see below for more info). Otherwise the statute of limitations would expire and the 2009 refunds would be lost.

The important point here is that you can’t wait for DOMA to be decided (for 2009).

You have to go ahead and file the protective claim before the deadline to amend 2009.

Link to DOMA article