In 1968, Charles Moritz, a never-married man, found himself in a perplexing situation. He sought a tax deduction under Section 214 for the salary of a caregiver he hired to care for his mother. However, the Internal Revenue Service denied his claim, citing a discriminatory provision in the statute. This provision, which stated that only “a woman or widower or is a husband whose wife is incapacitated or is institutionalized,” was eligible for the deduction, seemed to overlook the needs of individuals like Moritz. Despite his efforts to challenge this, he was met with a resounding ‘no’ from the tax court, which agreed with the IRS’s decision.

Moritz appealed the tax court’s decision in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. His lawyers argued that Moritz would have been allowed the deduction had he been a woman and that there was no justification for the difference in treatment between men and women in this case. They also argued the denial was discriminatory based on sex and violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (equal protection under the law).