Couples have the right to same sex marriage in Shelton Connecticut. However, recent changes in the law now also recognize same sex marriage on a federal level, which implicates tax rules and regulations. For example, same sex couples are part of tax equality in which DOMA is no longer recognized, which means couples involved in same sex marriage in Shelton Connecticut are now subject to the same tax rules as heterosexual couples.
When DOMA was the prevailing law, a legal union was only recognized between one man and one woman. Even when couples lived in states like Connecticut that recognized gay marriage, a couple could not file a federal joint tax return, nor could a married filing separately return be filed. Instead, each spouse would have to file a separate return. This situation often caused a large disparity between the tax liability of married heterosexual couples and that of same-sex couples.
With heterosexual couples, joint filing provided better tax treatment for some couples when their incomes were disparate. Same-sex couples at the time could not realize this joint-filing benefit. Now, same-sex couples can realize this benefit.
However, a marriage tax penalty would sometimes apply when both spouses are in a higher tax bracket and earn roughly the same amount. Same-sex couples are now subject to this penalty as are heterosexual couples.
Another important change in tax laws occurred in states where an employee covered a same-sex spouse through his or her employer-provided health insurance.