Barclays to Cover Gay Employee Health Benefits Tax

The financial services company said Friday it will begin reimbursing its employees based in the U.S. who opt to cover their same-sex domestic partners under the company’s medical, dental or vision plans for the tax they must pay on the value of those benefits. The new rule goes into effect next year, according to the New York Times.  

Barclays employees will receive a lump sum reimbursement at the end of each year, essentially a separate line item to cover the taxes they paid over the course of the year. The company decided to announce it now to coincide with the year-end open enrollment process for employee benefits.  

Google announced a similar move earlier this year (see Google to Cover Some Employees’ Tax on Domestic Partner Benefits), and a handful of other organizations, including Cisco, Kimpton Hotels and the Gates Foundation also cover these costs, the news report said.  

Like Google, Barclays is only covering these costs for same-sex partners, since heterosexual domestic partners have the option to marry and avoid the tax.