LGBT Practice Co-Leader Janis Cowhey Featured in New York Daily News Article, "Taxing Times for Same Sex Married Couples: What You Need to Know About the New Rules."
New York Daily News
By Phyllis Furman
Excerpt:
Greenwich Village couple Michael Nardi and Eugene Lefkowitz, paid a lot more in federal taxes this year – and that’s just the beginning of their new tax reality.
Like same sex married couples across the city, Nardi, 65 and Lefkowitz, 63, are facing big changes resulting from the Supreme Court’s historic decision last June to strike down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Same-sex couples who are legally married in states that recognize their marriages – including New York – now have the same federal tax benefits that in past were only available to heterosexual married couples.
The new rules affect everything from income tax to estate and gift tax.
Some same sex couples are actually getting divorced to avoid the higher tax bill, said Janis Cowhey McDonagh, co-leader of the LGBT practice group at accounting firm Marcum LLP.
You might be paying more – or less – in taxes. “As a general rule, if one spouse makes a good income and the other is a non-worker or has a low income, they will save by filing married joint,” Cowhey McDonagh said.
“If you are two high wage earners, you will pay more by filing married joint.”
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