According to an article in CNN, same-sex spouses are paying up to $6,000 a year in extra taxes because the government doesn’t recognize gay marriage. Marriage usually reaps benefits for any heterosexual couples, however, same-sex families aren’t allowed to yet enjoy the same perks associated with marriage since they are required to still file taxes separately instead of jointly.

Although gay marriage is being more widely accepted as a legal right, the imbalance still persists. There are more than 12 states that are now granting full or partial marriage rights to same-sex couples and this is the first time that the majority of Americans favor gay marriage. With same-sex spouses filing independently, it means that they can’t combine their income and deductions to take advantage of lower tax rates. This means that it’s also harder to qualify for certain tax breaks because the credits phase out sooner for single filers.

There is some investigation that was required to discover why same-sex couples pay more for taxes. It appears that the person who makes the most money in the family files as the “head of household” and the other spouse becomes a qualifying relative. Filing as the “head of the household” instead of “married filing jointly” exposes more income to a higher tax bracket. There are also standard deductions that are applied, which are given based on the filing status to taxpayers who don’t itemize deductions and they are lower for a head of household than they are for married couples filing jointly.