This was the most significant response we have seen to the Supreme Court’s ruling on DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) in June. According to the press release the Department of Treasury made public, “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 guidance on IRS procedure applies regardless of the state of residency and goes further to allow a couple to amend 2010, 2011, and 2012 tax returns to reflect a joint filing status. For more information on amending your federal tax return and filing jointly, visit http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc308.html. The memo from the Department of Health and Human Service modifies the recognition of legally married couples with regards to Medicaid coverage for nursing homes. According to the press release,... “all beneficiaries in private Medicare plans have access to equal coverage when it comes to care in a nursing home where their spouse lives.” http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/08/20130829a.html A.J. Bockelman, Executive Director of PROMO, stated “Ever since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Edith Windsor, striking down a key discriminatory provision of DOMA, the LGBT community has waited patiently to see movement such as this. These statements continue the public dialogue to educate the general population just how discriminatory DOMA actually was, but also greatly continues to show the disparity between states recognizing marriages for same sex couples and states such as Missouri. We at PROMO are committed to assist the community with understanding what these announcements mean for LGBT Missourians. It also strengthens our resolve to work for marriage rights here at home.”
