CNNMoney reported this week that same-sex spouses pay as much as $6,000 a year in extra taxes than their straight counterparts, in large measure because Uncle Same doesn’t recognize gay marriage. According to an analysis conducted by tax specialists at CNNMoney, same-sex families don’t receive the same benefits because they are prohibited from filing their federal returns jointly.

As CNNMoney reported on December 26, “the imbalance persists despite increasing acceptance of gay marriage as a legal right. More than 12 states now grant full or partial marriage rights to same-sex couples, and a recent Gallup poll showed–for the first time–that a majority of Americans favor gay marriage.”

The federal government, by contrast, is restricted from doing likewise by the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). “Even as more same-sex couples are able to file jointly at the state level, they are still forced to file as single when submitting federal returns to the IRS,” the report noted.

This means they can’t combine their income and deductions to take advantage of lower tax rates. It’s also harder for them to qualify for certain tax breaks because the credits phase out sooner for single filers.

Ken Weissenberg, a partner at the accounting firm of Eisner Amper and himself in a same-sex marriage, told CNN: “It’s costing these families thousands of dollars a year, as well as the emotional pain and suffering.”

The single light in the tunnel for same-sex spouses is

the so-called marriage penalty. As CNNMoney reported, for same-sex spouses in higher tax brackets who work and have no children, filing tax returns using the “single” status makes their liability a little lower than that of heterosexual married couples.

And CNN points out that even same-sex families, who live in states where gay marriage is legal, typically have to file four separate returns — including mock federal returns — to cover both state and federal tax burdens.

“But it shouldn’t stop anyone from getting married,” Weissenberg insisted to CNNMoney. Although he says he pays $5,000 more in taxes per year, he notes, “If I had to pay twice as much in taxes to be married to my husband, I would.”