Treasury Department issues most detailed estimate of same-sex married couples

by Rob Howard
Associate Editor

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday issued a report of the number of same-sex marriages as of tax year 2014. The report estimates that at the end of 2014, the number of same-sex married couples was 183,280. That was an increase of 40 percent over 2013, the year that the Windsor decision opened the way for same-sex married couples to file their federal tax returns jointly.

The report also made some observations about same-sex couple incomes. According to a New York Timesarticle on the Treasury study, “Pretax household income of same-sex married couples is higher than that of heterosexual married couples. Most of that is driven by the average earnings of male same-sex couples: $176,000. On average, they make $52,000 more than married lesbian couples and $63,000 more than married straight couples.

Lee Badgett, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, said one reason is the gender pay gap. The math here is simple — for heterosexual couples, the gender pay gap affects one partner. For same-sex female couples, the gender pay gap affects both partners.”

The Timesalso noted a startling anomaly in the data. “There is one group whose incomes are far above the rest: same-sex married men with children. Their income is roughly $275,000, more than double the pretax income for heterosexual couples and same-sex married female couples with children. This is a select group of people for whom the cost of children is particularly high. Using a surrogate can cost $250,000, and adoptions can cost upward of $30,000.

“The data also reveals another, more subtle geographical difference in male vs. female same-sex married couples. The top 20 cities for male same-sex married couples are more likely to include dense city centers like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, while the top 20 cities for female same-sex married couples tend to include smaller and medium-size cities like Springfield, Mass.; Madison, Wis.; and Burlington, Vt.”

The Treasury study used computer models to search for same-sex married couples filing joint  federal tax returns. While the results provide detailed information about same-sex marriages, the report notes that the number of same-sex married couples estimated by the Census Bureau is nearly twice as high as the Treasury data.

The report includes a map by the first three numbers in ZIP codes, giving an interesting picture of the national distribution of same-sex married couples.

In The Gayly’sarea, the report showed some interesting detail for 2014. In Arkansas, there were 560 same-sex married couples, representing .12 percent of all married couples. Male couples were .04 percent, and female couples were .07 percent of all married couples. The report noted that nationwide, there are more female than male couples.

In Kansas, there were 740 same-sex married couples, representing .14 of all couples. Male couples were .05, percent and female couples were .09 percent. In Missouri, which had nearly twice the total marriages as Kansas, there were 1910  same-sex married couples, representing .18 percent of all couples. Male couples were .07 percent, female couples .11 percent.

In Oklahoma, there were 1290 same-sex couples, a more than 100 percent increase over 2013’s count of 615. Same-sex marriage became legal in Oklahoma in October 2014, which may account for a lot of that increase. Same-sex married couples accounted for .2 percent of all marriages; male couples were .07 percent, female couples were .13 percent.

Texas had 8040 same-sex married couples, .19 percent of all couples; male couples were .09 percent, female couples .1 percent.

You can view the Treasury report at https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/tax-analysis/Documents/WP-108.pdf.

The Gayly – September 13, 2016 @ 1 p.m.