Federal tax code references to 'husband,' 'wife' to include same-sex couples

Richard Wolf | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Code now pronounces you husband and wife -- even if you're a same-sex couple.

The Obama administration issued proposed regulations Wednesday to ensure that all references to "husband" and "wife" in the tax code are interpreted to include gay and lesbian couples -- a safeguard against anyone taking the terms too literally.

The proposed regulations are intended to clarify the tax code without actually rewriting it, following the Supreme Court's ruling in June extending marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples nationwide. They would apply to all tax provisions in which marriage matters, including filing status, exemptions, the standard deduction, employee benefits, IRA contributions, the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit.

“The proposed regulations confirm that terms in the federal tax code relating to marriage should be interpreted to include same-sex spouses as well as opposite-sex spouses, ensuring that all are treated equally under the law,” Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement.

The IRS first issued a similar rule in 2013, following the high court's decision striking down a major part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. That ruling extended federal benefits to same-sex couples married in the 13 states where such marriages were legal.

At that time, the IRS said there were more than 200 tax code provisions and Treasury regulations that included the terms "husband" and "wife." By interpreting those to include gay and lesbian couples, the rule was meant to avoid "the serious constitutional questions that an alternate reading would create."

Only Congress can change the tax code, something that Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., proposed in July along with every Democrat in the Republican-controlled Senate. His "Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act" would eliminate not only "husband" and "wife" but references to such terms as "he," "his," "him" and "himself." But without support from Republicans, it's unlikely to become law.

David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization, said changing the code to be inclusive based on sexual orientation is the ultimate goal. In the meantime, he said, the proposed regulation “will make it very clear to the millions of people who use the tax code, and to tax preparers, exactly what this means.”