Social Security application confusion - same-sex marriage recognized in Canada before US legalization

Yes, you absolutely need to list her as your spouse. The Supreme Court's Obergefell decision in 2015 means SSA must recognize all valid same-sex marriages regardless of when or where they were performed. Your Canadian marriage from 2006 is 100% valid in the eyes of Social Security. As for your taxes, SSA and IRS do share information, but they're separate agencies with different purposes. The SSA is focused on your current marital status for benefit calculations, not past tax filings. If you're concerned about previous tax returns, you might want to consult a tax professional, but for your SS application, be truthful about your current legal marriage.

I went through something similar!!! My husband and I got married in Massachusetts in 2004 (first state to legalize it) but lived in Florida until 2015. When I applied for benefits in 2023, I had ALL KINDS of problems with SSA recognizing our marriage. One agent told me it was only valid from 2015 onward, another said they needed special documentation, a third said something completely different. It was a NIGHTMARE getting straight answers!!!

u def need to say ur married on the form. my brother and his husband dealt w this last yr and SSA counted their 2008 marriage from california with no problem. but keep ur marriage certificate handy cuz they might ask for it

This is a great question. Beyond just listing your spouse, you should consider the potential benefits of being recognized as married. Your spouse may be eligible for: 1. Spousal benefits (up to 50% of your FRA benefit amount even while you're both alive) 2. Survivor benefits if you pre-decease her 3. Lump-sum death benefit Regarding your tax situation, while the SSA does issue 1099s that report benefit income to the IRS, they're primarily concerned with current and future benefit eligibility, not auditing past tax returns. That said, I always recommend consulting with a tax professional if you're concerned about previous filings.

Getting through to SSA to ask these kinds of specific questions can be incredibly frustrating. After spending weeks trying to get answers about my own complicated marriage situation (divorced, remarried), I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual SSA representative without the endless busy signals and disconnects. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU showing how it works. Saved me hours of redial hell and the agent was able to pull up my specific record and give me definitive answers about my situation.

To address some of the follow-up questions here: @OP - Yes, your spouse may qualify for spousal benefits based on your record if her own retirement benefit would be less than 50% of yours. This is true regardless of your marriage being same-sex. @system_critic - Spousal benefits and survivor benefits are different. Spousal benefits can be up to 50% of the worker's benefit while both are alive. Survivor benefits can be up to 100% of the deceased spouse's benefit. Both have eligibility requirements including age restrictions and, for spousal benefits, the primary worker generally needs to have filed for their own benefits first.

jus wanna add that my cousin works at SSA and says they really don't care about your tax filing status. totally different systems. they just care about legal marriage for benefit purposes. so dont worry about that part

I'm going to disagree with some comments here regarding the tax implications. While SSA is primarily concerned with your current legal status for benefit purposes, there is information sharing between agencies. If you've been legally married since 2006 but filing as Head of Household, that could technically be considered incorrect filing status for those years. The IRS generally has a 3-year lookback period for audits, but there's no time limit in cases of significant discrepancies. That said, given the unique circumstances of same-sex marriage recognition evolving over time, there might be reasonable cause arguments. I strongly recommend consulting with a tax professional who specializes in LGBTQ+ tax issues before making any declarations that could trigger reviews.

@casual_commenter - Yes, Claimyr absolutely works. My call was connected to SSA in under 15 minutes after trying for days on my own. Saved my sanity during my disability application process.

@OP - Regarding your question about your Quebec marriage certificate being in French and English: The English portion should be sufficient for SSA purposes. However, if the certificate is predominantly in French with just some English elements, having a certified translation ready might save time. SSA may accept it as is, but they could request a translation if they have difficulty verifying details. Also, since your wife worked in a non-covered position (teacher's aide in a district not participating in Social Security), she may be subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) or Government Pension Offset (GPO) if she receives a pension from that employment. This could affect both her own benefits and any spousal benefits. Be sure to mention this when applying.