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According to the United States' Government Accountability Office, there are slightly over one thousand federal laws that treat married people differently from single people.
These include:
Rights
- right to many of ex- or late spouse's benefits, including
- Social Security pension
- veteran's pensions, indemnity compensation for service-connected deaths, medical care, and nursing home care, right to burial in veterans' cemeteries, educational assistance, and housing
- survivor benefits for federal employees
- survivor benefits for spouses of longshoremen, harbor workers, railroad workers
- additional benefits to spouses of coal miners who die of black lung disease
- $100,000 to spouse of any public safety officer killed in the line of duty
- continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits
- renewal and termination rights to spouse's copyrights on death of spouse
- continued water rights of spouse in some circumstances
- right to benefits while married
- employment assistance and transitional services for spouses of members being separated from military service; continued commissary privileges
- per diem payment to spouse for federal civil service employees when relocating
- Indian Health Service care for spouses of Native Americans (in some circumstances)
- larger benefits under some programs if married, including
- preferential hiring for spouses of veterans in government jobs
- tax free transfer of assets to spouse (including on death)
- joint filing of bankruptcy permitted
- special consideration to spouses of citizens and resident aliens
- exemption from "due-on-sale" clauses when transferring property to a spouse
- spouse's flower sales count towards meeting the eligibility for Fresh Cut Flowers and Fresh Cut Greens Promotion and Information Act
- threats against spouses of various federal employees is a federal crime
- right to continue living on land purchased from spouse by National Park Service when easement granted to spouse
Responsibilities
- spousal income and assets are counted in determining need in many forms of government assistance, including
- veteran's medical and home care benefits
- housing assistance
- housing loans for veterans
- child's education loans
- educational loan repayment schedule
- agricultural price supports and loans
- eligibility for federal matching campaign funds
- ineligible for National Affordable Housing program if spouse ever purchased a home
- subject to conflict-of-interest rules for many government and government-related jobs
- ineligible to receive various survivor benefits upon remarriage
Ambiguous
There are some laws that either benefit or penalize married couples over single people, depending upon their own circumstances.
- marriage penalty/bonus
- someone working for their spouse cannot be defined as an "employee"
- someone cannot change beneficiaries in a retirement plan or from waiving the joint and survivor annuity form of retirement benefit, without the written consent of his or her spouse
- wages can be garnished at a maximum of 60% (instead of the normal 25% limit) if the garnishing is for alimony or child support
States
In addition, community-property states frequently have forms of ownership that allow a full basis step-up on one's own share of community property on the death of a spouse (in addition to the normal step-up on spouse's assets).
External resources
- General Accounting Office's report (http://www.gao.gov/archive/1997/og97016.pdf)
- Tax Administration: Income Tax Treatment of Married and Single Individuals. GAO/GGD-96-175, September 3, 1996.
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