Tax Equity for Domestic Partners Act of 2001

H.R. 2837, the Tax Equity for Domestic Partners Act of 2001, sought to change how health insurance benefits for domestic partners are treated under federal tax law. At the time of its introduction, while employer-provided health coverage for spouses was typically tax-exempt, the value of coverage provided to non-spouse domestic partners was often counted as taxable income for the employee.

This bill would have excluded the value of employer-provided health and accident coverage for domestic partners from an employee's gross income, treating these benefits the same as those provided to a legal spouse. For citizens in domestic partnerships, this would have reduced their federal income tax burden and lowered the overall cost of maintaining health insurance for their households. Although it was introduced in 2001, the bill did not advance past the committee stage and did not become law.