At the University of Iowa, we recognize the importance of providing comprehensive benefits to all our employees, including those in domestic partnerships. Our faculty and staff domestic partner coverage allows you to extend various benefit programs to your domestic partner, ensuring they receive similar support and protection as married couples. Whether it’s health, dental, or voluntary term life insurance, our plans are designed to offer you and your partner peace of mind and financial security. Explore your options and find the coverage that best meets your needs.
What is a domestic partnership?
A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two people who live together and share a common domestic life of mutual support, caring, and commitment. They are responsible for each other's welfare but are not married. People in domestic partnerships receive benefits similar to those of married couples. However, they don't get all the benefits of marriage, such as the fact that a domestic partner is NOT a legal spouse.
Is a domestic partnership the same as common law?
A common-law marriage is a relationship in which the couple does not follow the formal requirements to get married. However, the relationship is still considered a marriage because it meets specific requirements.
- A present intent and agreement by both parties to be married and live as spouses.
- Continuous cohabitation
- Public declaration or "holding out" to the public that the parties are each other's spouses.
Domestic partnership coverage
Enrolling your domestic partner for coverage must meet the Declaration of Domestic Partnership Affidavit criteria.
Available coverage for domestic partners includes:
- Health
- Dental
- Accidental death and dismemberment insurance
- Spouse/partner and dependent voluntary term life insurance
- Voluntary vision insurance
The children of the employee or the employee's domestic partner may be insured under any benefit programs, provided they meet the guidelines established by the insurance carrier and the university.
What changes when you add a domestic partner
- Your benefits coverage status:
- If you are classified as an "Employee Only" or "Employee + Children" for benefits coverage, adding a domestic partner without children would classify you as "Employee + Spouse." If your partner does have children, that will be added to the coverage, and your new classification would be "Family."
- Your premium amounts:
- You will continue to receive the UI's contribution towards your health and dental insurance.
- The difference in cost between a single health insurance policy and the category that you are moving to with a domestic partner (either employee + spouse/partner or family policy) may not be paid with pre-tax dollars unless your partner qualifies as a tax dependent.
- If you already cover your child(ren), adding your partner’s child(ren) will not increase your cost.
- There may be changes in your tax liability:
- There are significant tax implications to be aware of when covering a domestic partner. Under federal tax law, if your domestic partner does not qualify as your tax dependent, then the portion of the premiums the UI pays for the coverage for your domestic partner will be included in your gross income, subject to federal income tax withholding and employment taxes, and will be reported on your Form W-2.
Tax consequences and tax dependents
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
- You provide more than half of their support during the calendar year in question.
Note that you do not need 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 to be a tax dependent if he or she meets the above two requirements for the first portion of the year, then you marry, and they remain your legal spouse for the remainder of the year.
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 contact 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.
Premium costs for adding a domestic partner
2025 UIChoice Monthly Premiums
| before-tax premium | after-tax premium (employee cost) | taxable amount (ui's cost) | total domestic partner cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee + Domestic Partner | $90 | $341 | $912 | $1,253 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Employee's Children | $352 | $110 | $441 | $551 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Domestic Partner's Children | $90 | $372 | $1,035 | $1,407 |
2025 UISelect Monthly Premiums
| before-tax premium | after-tax premium (employee cost) | taxable amount (ui's cost) | total domestic partner cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee + Domestic Partner | $0 | $320 | $609 | $929 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Employee's Children | $261 | $82 | $326 | $408 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Domestic Partner's Children | $0 | $343 | $700 | $1,043 |
2025 Dental II Monthly Premiums
| before-tax premium | after-tax premium (employee cost) | taxable amount (ui's cost) | total domestic partner cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee + Domestic Partner | $0.00 | $21.00 | $34.00 | $55.00 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Employee's Children | $22.10 | $7.50 | $30.00 | $37.50 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Domestic Partner's Children | $0.00 | $29.60 | $68.40 | $98.00 |
Prior years rates
UIChoice Monthly Premiums
| before-tax premium | after-tax premium (employee cost) | taxable amount (ui's cost) | total domestic partner cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee + Domestic Partner | $86 | $325 | $869 | $1,194 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Employee's Children | $335 | $105 | $420 | $525 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Domestic Partner's Children | $86 | $354 | $986 | $1,340 |
UISelect Monthly Premiums
| before-tax premium | after-tax premium (employee cost) | taxable amount (ui's cost) | total domestic partner cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee + Domestic Partner | $0 | $316 | $602 | $918 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Employee's Children | $258 | $81 | $322 | $403 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Domestic Partner's Children | $0 | $339 | $692 | $1,031 |
Dental II Monthly Premiums
| before-tax premium | after-tax premium (employee cost) | taxable amount (ui's cost) | total domestic partner cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee + Domestic Partner | $0.00 | $20.10 | $32.40 | $52.50 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Employee's Children | $21.20 | $7.20 | $28.80 | $36.00 |
| Employee + Domestic Partner + Domestic Partner's Children | $0.00 | $28.40 | $65.60 | $94.00 |
Beginning the Process
To cover a domestic partner, you must file an affidavit of domestic partnership (valid for same or opposite-sex partners). You only need to complete this affidavit once, and it will remain in effect until the relationship ends.
- If the relationship ends, you must notify University Benefits by filing an Affidavit for Termination of Domestic Partnership form.
- A new affidavit is required for a new domestic partner relationship.
Instructions
Instructions
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:
- Select the "Benefits & Wellness" link
- Select the "Benefits" link
- Select the "Benefits Enrollment" link.
- Choose your OPEN Family Status Change event to begin the enrollment process.
Add partner, dependent(s), and beneficiaries
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Select the "OPEN - Edit Your Benefit Elections" link.
- Select the other blue button labeled "I agree - Continue to Benefits Enrollment" on the left.
- 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.
- 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.
- Complete the same process for dental insurance, life insurance, voluntary term life insurance, AD&D, and dependent life insurance.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
COBRA Coverage
The University will apply the federal COBRA regulations for your domestic partner. If your domestic partner's insurance is canceled as a result of the termination of your employment, the ending of the domestic partner relationship, or a child of the partner no longer qualifying as a dependent, then the individual who loses the coverage will be eligible to continue the insurance voluntarily through COBRA.
The issue of benefits for your domestic partner is complex. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact University Benefits. All information supplied by you and your domestic partner is kept confidential, and this information is only released to the insurance carrier or parties involved in processing enrollments and deductions.
ABOUT OUR SITE: Our website's information describes only the plans' highlights and does not constitute official plan documents. Additional terms and conditions apply. If there are any discrepancies between the data contained herein and the official plan documents, the plan documents will govern.