Legally married same-sex couples will now be recognized for federal tax purposes, regardless of whether the state they reside in recognizes marriage equality, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service said on Thursday.

The news comes two months after the homophobic Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed into law in 1996 by then-president Bill Clinton, was ruled unconstitutional. California's discriminatory Proposition 8 law was also struck down on the same day, paving the way for marriage equality in the state and the rest of the nation.

Today's news clarifies the June rulings by specifying that legally married same-sex spouses must file federal tax returns as "married filing jointly" or individually as "married filing separately." Married spouses will no longer be able to file the tax returns as if they were single, according to The New York Times.

"Today's ruling provides certainty and clear, coherent tax-filing guidance for all legally married same-sex couples nationwide," Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said to The New York Times. "This ruling also assures legally married same-sex couples that they can move freely throughout the country knowing that their federal filing status will not change."

Couples from states where gay marriage is not yet legal will now have more incentive to get married in states where marriage equality exists. This will boost tourism and should certainly give an economic boost to states that have marriage equality.

In other related news this week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that Medicare would be extended to same-sex spouses. The department released a statement "clarifying that all beneficiaries in private Medicare plans have access to equal coverage when it comes to care in a nursing home where their spouse lives."

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