Your same-sex or opposite-sex domestic partner (other than a spouse) can qualify as your tax dependent under Internal Revenue Code Section 152(a) only if:

• For the entire calendar year in question, they live with you as a member of the household you maintain and occupy and
• During the calendar year in question, you provide more than half of their total support

Note that you don't need to be able to claim an exemption for your domestic partner on your Form 1040. If your tax year is other than the calendar year, use that year instead.

We will also consider your domestic partner a tax dependent if they meet the above requirements for the first portion of the year, then you marry, and they remain your legal spouse for the remainder of the year.  Please see the Qualifying Person Test under Publication 503 on the IRS website.

To determine whether you provide more than half of your domestic partner’s total support, you must compare the amount of support you provide with the amount of support your domestic partner receives from all sources, including social security, welfare payments, the help you offer and what your domestic partner supplies for themselves. 

Support includes food, shelter, clothing, medical and dental care, education, etc. If you believe you might provide more than half of your partner’s support, you should use the support worksheet in IRS Publication 501 (Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information).

Filing a Declaration of Dependent Domestic Partner (other than a spouse). Please get in touch with your tax advisor before filing an affidavit that your domestic partner is a dependent, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code.

If your domestic partner qualifies as your tax dependent, you can avoid having the premiums paid by the University treated as taxable income. You must complete and return the Declaration of Domestic Partnership form to avoid taxation. Because determining whether a person is a dependent for tax purposes turns on facts solely within your knowledge, the University of Iowa cannot make this determination for you. 

If the university does not receive a properly completed declaration form from you, we will assume that your domestic partner does not qualify as your tax dependent.

You and your partner must complete the affidavit and submit it to University Benefits by email to benefits@uiowa.edu or campus mail to 120 USB.

Upon review and approval of your affidavit, University Benefits will contact you by email with instructions to update your elections in Employee Self-Service.

• You must submit supporting documentation for anyone you add to your plan (i.e., domestic partner, children). University Benefits will contact you for this information after you submit your elections.

Log in to Employee Self-Service

In the left navigation pane:

1. Select the "Benefits & Wellness" link
2. Select the "Benefits" link
3. Select the "Benefits Enrollment" link.
4. Choose your OPEN Family Status Change event to begin the enrollment process.

Add partner, dependent(s), and beneficiaries

1. After entering your open event, please read the main page before selecting the blue button on the right labeled "I agree - View & Update Dependents/Beneficiaries" at the bottom of the screen.
2. Review your beneficiaries and dependents list. This is where you will add your Domestic Partner's information and any other eligible dependent(s) you want to add to your coverage.
3. Enter each dependent's personal information, full legal names, birth dates, and social security numbers. Once everything is entered, select the Submit and the "Return to Benefits Enrollment" buttons to continue with your elections. 

Elect your benefits and add dependents to coverage

1. Select the "OPEN - Edit Your Benefit Elections" link.
2. Select the other blue button labeled "I agree - Continue to Benefits Enrollment" on the left.
3. Under Medical, choose your preferred plan by selecting the corresponding option code in the Medical Coverage Selection dropdown box. The option code is the number in the parentheses located to the right of the monthly cost.
   • If your domestic partner and eligible dependent child(ren) are to be added to your medical coverage, select the box next to their name under the "Dependents Not Covered" area.
     • If you do not see your domestic partner or eligible dependent child(ren) under the "Dependents Not Covered" section, you will need to back out of editing your benefit elections and select the blue button on the right side and follow instructions under the 'Add partner, dependent(s), and beneficiaries' section above.
   • If you are removing a dependent from your coverage, uncheck the box next to their name and select the blue "Recalculate" button. You should then see them under the "Dependents Not Covered" section.
4. Complete the same process for dental insurance, life insurance, voluntary term life insurance, AD&D, and dependent life insurance.
5. Once all changes have been elected, select the recalculate button to review your selections and submit your elections to University Benefits. Make sure you submit until you get the final confirmation page. 

Emails from University Benefits

After completing your enrollment, You will receive two emails from the Benefits Office.

1. Benefits Confirmation Statement - Please review this statement carefully in Employee Self-Service. If a correction is needed, follow the steps from your Benefits Confirmation page. You will only have five (5) days from the release date of your statement to request changes.
2. Dependent Eligibility Verification - Our office will send information about the verification process and document requirements after processing your event. For Domestic Partners, you must supply the documentation corresponding to the eligibility conditions you selected on the Domestic Partner Affidavit. You will have four (4) weeks to upload these documents to Employee Self-Service.