WyldSpirit
Really Experienced
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2004
- Posts
- 100
http://www.irs.gov/irb/2004-49_IRB/ar10.html
Sorry this link is such horrible tax-code legalese, unfortunately because it is tax-year 2005 law (does NOT affect 2004 taxes) the IRS has not published anything that is translated for "the rest of us" yet (trust me, this includes their own employees, no one can really read the tax code!)
What it means;
In order for Employer provided health or accident benefits to be non-taxable, that person must be a spouse, dependant or qualifying relative (actually related by blood or marriage) otherwise, Employer provided health or accident benefits (your medical insurance) for a domestic partner that does not meet these requirements are now required by federal law to be included in taxable income! And guess what folks, if that person is working and doesn't meet the requirements to be claimed by you as a dependant (for 2005 they would have to make less than $3200 among other requirements) you can't even claim an itemized deduction on your tax return for the amounts that you pay! (In order to claim an itemized deduction for medical expenses, the expenses must be paid for you, your spouse, or your dependant.)
So, we fight tooth and nail to get our employers to allow benefits for domestic partners and now, the federal government can't disallow that, but, they can make it taxable income.
Are you pissed yet? Well, here's one to make it worse, they hid all this in the middle of a tax bill to extend the increase in the amounts of the child tax credit, exemption amount, standard deduction, remember all those nifty tax cuts that Bush pushed through right when he first came into office, yeah, he forgot to mention all those were only temporary through 2004. So, he snuck this in on the bill to extend those through atleast 2010.
Soon as I get a more readable and correct referance, I'll post it, but, dead in the center of filing season they aren't real likely to put out much about it unless the press starts making a stink.
Sorry this link is such horrible tax-code legalese, unfortunately because it is tax-year 2005 law (does NOT affect 2004 taxes) the IRS has not published anything that is translated for "the rest of us" yet (trust me, this includes their own employees, no one can really read the tax code!)
What it means;
In order for Employer provided health or accident benefits to be non-taxable, that person must be a spouse, dependant or qualifying relative (actually related by blood or marriage) otherwise, Employer provided health or accident benefits (your medical insurance) for a domestic partner that does not meet these requirements are now required by federal law to be included in taxable income! And guess what folks, if that person is working and doesn't meet the requirements to be claimed by you as a dependant (for 2005 they would have to make less than $3200 among other requirements) you can't even claim an itemized deduction on your tax return for the amounts that you pay! (In order to claim an itemized deduction for medical expenses, the expenses must be paid for you, your spouse, or your dependant.)
So, we fight tooth and nail to get our employers to allow benefits for domestic partners and now, the federal government can't disallow that, but, they can make it taxable income.
Are you pissed yet? Well, here's one to make it worse, they hid all this in the middle of a tax bill to extend the increase in the amounts of the child tax credit, exemption amount, standard deduction, remember all those nifty tax cuts that Bush pushed through right when he first came into office, yeah, he forgot to mention all those were only temporary through 2004. So, he snuck this in on the bill to extend those through atleast 2010.
Soon as I get a more readable and correct referance, I'll post it, but, dead in the center of filing season they aren't real likely to put out much about it unless the press starts making a stink.
)
