The U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS issued ruling as a direct result of Supreme Court action regarding same-sex couples. In short:

Under the ruling any same-sex marriage legally entered into in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory that recognize same-sex marriage will be treated as married for all federal tax purposes. This includes:

• filing status
• personal deductions
• dependency exemptions
• standard deductions
• employee benefits
• tax credits
• retirement plans and contributions

More importantly, this ruling applies regardless of where the same-sex couple currently lives. The ruling applies to originally being married in jurisdictions that legally recognize their marriages.

Other things to note:

• Same-sex couples within this ruling must file either married filing jointly or married filing separately. You may no longer file as a single taxpayer.
• This ruling DOES NOT apply to registered domestic partnerships, civil unions or similar formal relationships.
• If you paid for same-sex health insurance coverage from an employer in after-tax dollars you may be able to shift these premiums into pre-tax dollars.
• State laws are more complex and are currently evolving so try to keep informed of any new developments on this front.