Sponsors (86)
The bill modernizes and clarifies tax law language to be gender‑neutral and more consistent—benefiting taxpayers (including same‑sex and nontraditional couples) and administrators—while imposing modest short‑term compliance costs, agency workload, and some transitional tax/legal uncertainty.
All taxpayers: Replaces gendered pronouns with gender‑neutral language across the Code, modernizing statutes and reducing ambiguity about who provisions cover.
Tax administration and enforcement: Consistent, neutral terminology simplifies IRS interpretation and enforcement and reduces inconsistent application across provisions.
Married couples (including same‑sex and non‑traditional marriages): Treating spouses (and their estates) as a single partner in certain provisions clarifies application of partnership/ownership rules and can reduce disputes.
Taxpayers, preparers, and software vendors: Must update forms, instructions, and tax software to reflect new wording, creating small but widespread compliance costs and short‑term burdens.
IRS, Treasury, and state tax agencies: Need to issue new regulations, guidance, and training to implement the changes, consuming agency resources and staff time.
Taxpayers, employers, and courts: During the transition, substituted neutral phrases may be interpreted differently than prior gendered terms, risking litigation and inconsistent application until clarified.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Replaces gendered spouse and pronoun language in numerous Internal Revenue Code provisions with gender‑neutral married/spouse terminology.
Official title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify that all provisions shall apply to legally married same-sex couples in the same manner as other married couples, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 26, 2025 by Becca Balint · Last progress June 26, 2025
Rewrites dozens of provisions in the Internal Revenue Code to replace gendered spouse and pronoun language (e.g., “husband and wife,” “his,” “her”) with gender-neutral terms (e.g., “married couple,” “the taxpayer,” “the spouse of the taxpayer”). The bill does not change tax rates, dollar amounts, or deadlines; it updates statutory wording and some cross‑references so the tax code uses neutral and consistent married/spouse terminology. The changes are textual and spread across many specific code sections affecting how statutes refer to married individuals, spouses, estates, and related cross‑references; they may require IRS guidance and administrative updates (forms, instructions, and computer systems) to reflect new wording.