The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that the eligibility rules for premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) treat same-sex spouses in the same manner as opposite sex spouses. As a result, same-sex spouses, like opposite-sex spouses, must file joint returns to be eligible for the tax credit.
On September 27, 2013, HHS issued guidance, for purposes of the health insurance exchanges (also known as marketplaces), announcing that:
The eligibility rules for exchange-related premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) treat same-sex spouses in the same manner as opposite sex spouses.
Same-sex spouses therefore must file joint returns to be eligible for the tax credit.
Related to the IRS' rules under Section 36B for the premium tax credit.
In its guidance, HHS noted that under the IRS Ruling, the eligibility rules for the Section 36B premium tax credit treat same-sex spouses and opposite-sex spouses in the same manner. As a result, premium tax credits are available to an eligible individual with a same-sex spouse:
Regardless of where the individual lives (that is, a "place of celebration" rule, rather than a "place of domicile" rule applies).
Provided that the individual and his or her spouse file a joint return for the tax year.
For purposes of the premium tax credit and the cost-sharing subsidies:
An individual's family size must include his or her spouse.
The individual's household income must reflect the spouse's modified adjusted gross income.
According to HHS, the federal exchanges will implement the IRS Ruling as applicable to advance payments of the premium tax credit and cost-sharing reductions beginning October 1, 2013 (the date that open enrollment under the exchanges began), regarding married couples that attest that they expect to file a joint tax return for the 2014 tax year.
The HHS guidance adds that state-based exchanges must implement the guidance (including interim workarounds) as soon as reasonably practical.