CCH Tax Briefing SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN DOMA June 27, 2013 Highlights Supreme Court Rules Against DOMA 5 To 4 Joint Returns For Same-Sex Married Couples Tax Refunds Possible “Marriage Penalty” Shared By Same-Sex Couples Estate Planning Strategies Change Employers Expected To Revise Benefit Plans No Nationwide Same-Sex Marriage Mandate Inside Issues At Stake.......................................................2 Supreme Court’s Holdings..................................2 Federal Tax Consequences..................................2 Income Tax Benefits And Disadvantages..........3 Filing Status...........................................................3 Filing Status, AGI Floors And Threshold Amounts..............................................4 Other Same-Sex Couple Income Tax Issues.......5 Estate And Gift Taxation......................................6 Employee Benefits................................................ 7 Affordable Care Act................................................8 Social Security Benefits.........................................9 Effective-Date Issues.............................................9 Special Report Post-DOMA Tax Implications Loom Large In a 5 to 4 decision, the United States Supreme Court has found that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as applied to persons of the same sex who are legally married under the laws of their state (Windsor, S.Ct., June 26, 2013, 2013-2 ustc ¶50,400). The majority, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, held that DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the liberty of the person protected by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. The decision opens the door for same-sex married couples to enjoy many federal taxrelated benefits previously available only to opposite-sex married couples. These include income tax benefits, estate and gift tax benefits, taxpayer-friendly employee benefits, and