Please note this same-sex tax assistance reminder

Same-Sex Tax Assistance Reminder
If you are currently receiving Tax Assistance, please be sure to renew your application (if applicable) in order to continue to receive this assistance without interruption, otherwise your tax assistance will expire December 31. 
Note: if you applied for Tax Exemption, no action is required at this time, unless you no longer meet the criteria for tax exemption. Contact Employee Services at 203-432-5552 or by e-mail at employee.services@yale.edu with questions.

The Tax Assistance Program, which went into effect in January 2012, is designed to lessen the tax burden for eligible Faculty and Managerial & Professional staff covering a same-sex spouse or civil union partner under a University health plan. Yale, as far as we can determine, is one of only four colleges and universities offering this type of tax assistance. Additionally, the University will join the Human Rights Campaign’s Business Coalition for Benefits Tax Equity, a group of leading U.S. employers supporting legislative efforts to end the federal taxation of health insurance benefits for same-sex spouses and domestic partners.  

The annual Tax Assistance benefit will be $1,500 ($125 per month). This is in the form of additional taxable compensation for Faculty and Managerial & Professional staff who cover a same-sex spouse or civil union partner under Yale’s health benefit who is not a federally qualified tax dependent and who does not have access to healthcare through his or her own employer.

Alternatively, if you do not meet the criteria for the Tax Assistance benefit, you may qualify for the Tax Exemption option, which provides an exemption of federal taxation imposed on the value of the healthcare benefits provided to your dependent and covered children. As a result of recent systems and process enhancements, we are now able to process payroll without including additional healthcare income and tax withholding for employees with same-sex spouses, civil union partners, or domestic partners (on file with the University prior to April 2006) who are able to claim their spouse or partner as a qualified federal tax dependent under Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Section 152. 

For more information, consult the LGBTQ Frequently Asked Benefits Questions.