119th Congress
S. 5395: Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income any compensatory damages with respect to sexual assault claims, and for other purposes.
Introduced
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- Passed House (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
This bill excludes from gross income certain damages received by an individual due to any sexual act or sexual contact and establishes the applicable burden of proof in court proceedings regarding the characterization of such damages for federal tax purposes.
Under current law, amounts received as damages (other than punitive damages) from a judgment, award, or settlement of a claim may be excluded from gross income and, thus, are not subject to federal income tax, if attributable to a personal physical injury or physical sickness. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) generally interprets personal physical injury to require observable bodily harm (e.g., bruising, cuts, swelling, or bleeding).
Under the bill, amounts received as damages (other than punitive damages) from a judgment, award, or settlement due to any sexual act or sexual conduct, whether or not there are medical records or observable injuries of such act or contact, may be excluded from gross income.
Read the full summary
Further, if a judgment, award, or settlement states that damages are due to any sexual act or sexual conduct, then the IRS has the burden of proving otherwise in court proceedings related to the tax liability associated with such damages.
Finally, the bill requires the IRS to promote public awareness of the exclusion from gross income of damages related to any sexual act or sexual contact.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- Todd Young R-INOriginal
Who scored on this bill
- 1Catherine Cortez Masto SponsorDrew cross-party cosponsors, introduced2 events+6
See all scorers and every scoring event
Introductions and cosponsorships count toward weekly caps and show no points.
Other bills by Catherine Cortez Masto
- S. 1574: Tribal Access to Electronic Evidence Act
- S. 3693: Large-Scale Water Recycling Reauthorization Act
- S. 91: Western Wildfire Support Act of 2026
- S. 1981: Strategic Grazing to Reduce Risk of Wildfire Act
- S. 3041: Tribal Warrant Fairness Act
- S.J.Res. 128: Disapproval of Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to the withdrawal of the rule rule: Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-03: Unlawful and Unenforceable Contract Terms and Conditions
History
- Introduced in the Senate by Catherine Cortez Masto.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
- Introduced in Senate
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.