Civil Unions at Tax Time

By Chris Bracken on Tuesday, February 26, 2002.

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As the nation prepares to pays its yearly taxes, some Vermonters have an option not available to the rest of the country.
Since same sex couples in the Green Mountain State now enjoy the same legal rights as married couples, they can now file their taxes together.
Correspondent Chris Bracken reports.

Vermont's first in the nation civil union law took effect a year and a half ago - but some rights and benefits of marriage are just being extended now.....

This year , civil union couples have the option of filing their taxes the same way married couples do. Gloria Hobson is a spokesperson with the Vermont Tax Department.....HOBSON..... But civil unions couples choosing to file separately have an advantage over married couples. That's according to Euan Bear, the editor of , Out In The Mountains, a newspaper for gays published in Richmond, Vt.....BEAR.....The option of filing separately can also save civil unions couples paper work. Because the Federal government does not recognize civil unions, couples who file jointly must send in multiple federal tax forms. Donald Cecere is a tax expert from Burlington....CECERE....According to the state health department, 629 Vermont couples had entered into civil unions as of the end of 2001. Since Vermont passed its civil unions law in June 2000, the legislatures in several other states have considered similar law, but to date, Vermont remains the only place where same sex couples can be legally joined.