Until the United States Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___ (2013), the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) required employers providing subsidized benefits to same-sex spouses and domestic partners/civil union partners (whether same-sex or opposite sex) to impute income on the subsidy relating to the spouse/partner benefits, and to pay Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes on that imputed income. If the employee paid an extra premium for the spouse/partner coverage under a cafeteria (section 125) plan, the extra premium amount attributable to the spouse/partner’s coverage had to be paid on an after-tax basis.
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