II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1564 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit legally married 

same-sex couples to amend their filing status for returns outside the 

3-year limitation. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 13, 2017 

Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. COONS, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. HEINRICH, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BOOKER, 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. CARPER, Mr. KAINE, Mr. 

FRANKEN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

DURBIN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. UDALL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. REED, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. HARRIS, and 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit 

legally married same-sex couples to amend their filing 

status for returns outside the 3-year limitation. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Refund Equality Act 

5 of 2017’’. 


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•S 1564 IS

1 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF LIMITATION FOR CER2 TAIN LEGALLY MARRIED COUPLES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (d) of section 6511 of 

4 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(9) RULES RELATING TO CERTAIN LEGALLY

7 MARRIED COUPLES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of 

9 spouses— 

10 ‘‘(i) who were married under state law 

11 (as such term is used in Revenue Ruling 

12 2013–17) before September 16, 2013, and 

13 ‘‘(ii) who were first treated as married 

14 for purposes of this title by the application 

15 of the holdings of Revenue Ruling 2013– 

16 17, 

17 with respect to the taxable year in which the 

18 marriage was entered into and any subsequent 

19 taxable year that, but for this paragraph, would 

20 be outside the 3-year period of limitation pre21 scribed in subsection (a), such period shall be 

22 extended until the date prescribed by law (in23 cluding extensions) for filing the return of tax 

24 for the taxable year that includes the date of 

25 the enactment of this paragraph. The preceding 

26 sentence shall apply only with respect to 


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1 amendments to the return of tax, and claims 

2 for credit or refund, relating to a change in the 

3 marital status of such spouses. 

4 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OF LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF

5 CLAIM.—In the case of a claim for credit or re6 fund which is allowed by reason of subpara7 graph (A), the amount of the refund may ex8 ceed the portion of the tax paid within the pe9 riod provided in subsection (b)(2) to the extent 

10 of the amount of the overpayment attributable 

11 to the change in the marital status of the 

12 spouses.’’. 

13 (b) FILING OF JOINT RETURN FOR PRIOR TAXABLE

14 YEAR.—Section 6013 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

15 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

16 subsection: 

17 ‘‘(i) JOINT RETURN AFTER FILING SEPARATE RE18 TURNS FOR CERTAIN LEGALLY MARRIED COUPLES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If— 

20 ‘‘(A) an individual has filed a separate re21 turn for a taxable year for which a joint return 

22 could have been made by the individual and the 

23 individual’s spouse, but for the fact that the 

24 spouses were first treated as married for pur25 poses of this title by the application of the holdVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:01 Jul 22, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1564.IS S1564

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1 ings of Revenue Ruling 2013–17 after the filing 

2 of the return of tax for such taxable year, and 

3 ‘‘(B) the time prescribed by law for filing 

4 the return for such taxable year has expired, 

5 such individual and the individual’s spouse may nev6 ertheless make a joint return for such taxable year. 

7 ‘‘(2) RULES AND LIMITATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The election provided 

9 for under paragraph (1) may not be made after 

10 the later of— 

11 ‘‘(i) the expiration of 3 years from the 

12 last date prescribed by law for filing the 

13 return for such taxable year (determined 

14 without regard to any extension of time 

15 granted to either spouse), or 

16 ‘‘(ii) the date prescribed by law (in17 cluding extensions) for filing the return of 

18 tax for the taxable year that includes the 

19 date of the enactment of this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(B) OTHER RULES.—The rules of— 

21 ‘‘(i) so much of subsection (b)(1) as 

22 follows the first sentence, 

23 ‘‘(ii) subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) 

24 of subsection (b)(2), and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of 

2 subsection (b), 

3 shall apply to a joint return under this sub4 section as if it were a joint return under sub5 section (b).’’. 

Æ 


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