Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined 43 of their Senate colleagues to reintroduce the bipartisan Refund Equality Act to ensure that married same-sex couples can amend their tax returns back to the date of their marriage. This legislation follows the tenth anniversary of the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court ruling on June 26, which recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
“As we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month, we also must continue working to achieve equality for all – that includes writing a fairer tax code that does not discriminate based on who you love,” said Bennet. “These bills are important steps forward to update our tax system and build an economy that works for everyone.”
“Who you love shouldn’t determine how you’re taxed,” said Hickenlooper. “Legally married same-sex couples deserve the tax refunds they were denied because of outdated laws.”
Specifically, the Refund Equality Act will:
- Allow same-sex couples who were married in jurisdictions that recognized same-sex marriage prior to 2013 – including Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. – to file for income tax adjustments for those years, back to the date of their marriage;
- Create exceptions for two tax code limitations: Section 6013(b), which gives married couples three years to begin filing jointly after their most recent separate returns, and Section 6511(a), which requires a claim for tax credits or refunds to be filed within three years of the initial return; and
- Create exemptions, including adjustments to capital loss carryback and adjustments for retired service members who receive an award of disability compensations.
According to a 2021 estimate by the Joint Committee on Taxation, this bill will return $55 million in refunds to taxpayers whose marriages were systematically discriminated against.
The legislation is endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, the Movement Advancement Project, and MassEquality.
Bennet first joined his Senate colleagues to introduce the Refund Equality Act in 2023.
In addition to Bennet and Hickenlooper, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Maria Cantwell, Maria (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth, Tammy (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Angus King (I-Maine), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) cosponsored the bill.
The text of the bill is available HERE.