## Facts

- The Internal Revenue Service issued a revenue ruling interpreting how federal tax law treats same-sex relationships after the invalidation of a federal opposite-sex-only definition of marriage.
- The ruling addressed taxpayers who are lawfully married to a same-sex spouse under the law of a state or other jurisdiction authorizing such marriages.
- It also addressed individuals in civil unions, registered domestic partnerships, or similar relationships recognized under state law but not denominated as “marriage.”
- The IRS relied on its historical approach of looking to state law to determine marital status and on prior administrative practice recognizing marriages valid where created, even if later residence is in a jurisdiction with different marriage rules.
- The IRS adopted an administrable national standard to avoid federal tax consequences changing with a couple’s state of domicile.
- The ruling became effective upon publication in the Internal Revenue Bulletin and allowed reliance for open tax years, with related administrative procedures for correcting certain employment tax overpayments.

## Issues

1. Whether, for federal tax purposes, “spouse,” “husband and wife,” “husband,” and “wife” include an individual lawfully married to a person of the same sex under state law.
2. Whether the IRS recognizes a same-sex marriage validly entered into in a jurisdiction authorizing such marriages even if the couple’s state of domicile does not recognize the marriage.
3. Whether those same marital terms include individuals in a civil union, registered domestic partnership, or similar formal relationship not denominated as “marriage” under state law.

## Decision

- The IRS ruled that individuals in a lawful same-sex marriage are treated as married for all federal tax purposes where marital status is relevant.
- The IRS adopted a “place-of-celebration” rule: a marriage valid where entered into is recognized for federal tax purposes even if the domicile state does not recognize it.
- The IRS ruled that civil unions, registered domestic partnerships, and similar relationships not denominated as marriage are not treated as marriage for federal tax purposes, regardless of the partners’ sexes.
- The IRS set an effective date tied to publication and permitted certain retroactive reliance for open years, subject to applicable administrative procedures.

## Legal Principles

- Federal tax treatment of marital status generally follows state law validity of the relationship, using a federal choice-of-law rule for determining which state’s law controls.
- A marriage validly formed under the law of a competent jurisdiction is recognized for federal tax purposes based on the place of celebration, not the place of domicile.
- For federal tax purposes, same-sex spouses fall within statutory and regulatory terms such as “spouse,” “husband and wife,” “husband,” and “wife” when the couple is lawfully married.
- Relationship statuses that state law does not denominate as “marriage” (e.g., civil unions and registered domestic partnerships) do not create “spouse” status under federal tax law.
- The place-of-celebration rule is justified as necessary for uniform administration and to reduce uncertainty and compliance burdens for taxpayers and the IRS.

## Conclusion

The ruling established that lawful same-sex marriages are recognized for all federal tax purposes under a place-of-celebration standard, while expressly excluding civil unions and domestic partnerships from marital recognition, creating uniform federal tax treatment keyed to the validity of a marriage where entered into.


Rev. Rul. 2013-17, 2013-2 C.B. 201 (2013)