IRS Redefines Spouse, Husband and Wife

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that all states must grant same-sex couples the right to marry. In a 5-4 decision by the United States Supreme Court, Justice Kennedy, wrote: “No union is more profound than marriage.”

The IRS published proposed regulations that redefine the way the Code dictates the marital status of taxpayers for purposes of the income, estate, gift excise and payroll taxes. The regulations add proposed regulation Section 301.7701-18, which provides the following:

For federal tax purposes, the terms spouse, husband, and wife mean an individual lawfully married to another individual. The term husband and wife means two individuals lawfully married to each other. A marriage of two individuals is recognized for federal tax purposes if the marriage would be recognized by any state, possession, or territory of the Unites States.