The IRS has recently issued guidance on the treatment of same sex couples.  See Rev. Rul. 2013-17  http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-13-17.pdf.  Pursuant to Revenue Ruling 2013-17 the IRS, for federal tax purposes, will treat the terms “spouse,” “husband and wife,” “husband,” and “wife” to include an individual married to a person of the same sex, if the individuals are lawfully married under state law.   The guidelines of the IRS come after the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ____, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013) wherein the United States Supreme Court concluded that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it violates the principles of equal protection.  In addition, the Court found that it “undermines both the public and private significance of state-sanctioned same-sex marriages” and found that “no legitimate purpose” overcomes section 3’s “purpose and effect to disparage and to injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect.”  Windsor, 133 S. Ct. at 2694-95.

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