The IRS has been working to amend the tax code's language to account for
Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that essentially legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country, according to the
Journal of Accountancy. This will be done through a proposed new regulation that would amend the definitions of "husband," "wife," "spouse," and "husband and wife" to be in conformance with the court decision.
Under the
proposed regulations, "for federal tax purposes... terms indicating sex, such as 'husband,' 'wife,' and 'husband and wife' should be interpreted in a neutral way to indicate same-sex spouses as well as opposite-sex spouses." This means that, under federal tax regulations, "the terms 'spouse,' 'husband,' and 'wife,' mean an individual lawfully married to another individual, and the term 'husband and wife' means two individuals lawfully married to each other. These definitions apply regardless of sex."