Unequal Taxes on Equal Benefits: The Taxation of Domestic Partner Benefits


 

Publication Date: December 2007

Publisher: Center for American Progress

Author(s): M.V. Lee Badgett

Research Area: Banking and finance

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

In this report, we will detail how employees with partners now pay on average $1,069 per year more in taxes than would a married employee with the same coverage. Collectively, unmarried couples lose $178 million per year to additional taxes. U.S. employers also pay a total of $57 million per year in additional payroll taxes because of this unequal tax treatment. Because the number of unmarried couples is growing, over time this unfair treatment will affect millions of families.