To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish procedures for relief from joint and several liability on a joint tax return for individuals requesting such relief due to domestic violence or abuse.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Mace introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Tax Fairness for Abuse Survivors Act creates new IRS procedures specifically designed for domestic violence survivors who filed joint tax returns with their abusers. It allows these survivors to obtain relief from tax liability when their abusive spouse was responsible for understating taxes on the joint return, even if the survivor knew about the understatement but was too afraid to challenge it.
Who Benefits and How
- Domestic violence survivors: Can obtain relief from tax debts they did not cause, especially when they were coerced into signing returns with fraudulent information. The bill creates a legal presumption in their favor when they provide evidence of abuse.
- Family members of abuse victims: Also qualify for protection under the bill if they were victims of the abuse.
- Legal aid organizations: May see increased demand for assistance helping abuse survivors navigate the new relief process.
Who Bears the Burden and How
- The IRS: Must establish new procedures to process these relief requests, maintain confidentiality protections, and handle the additional administrative workload.
- Abusive spouses: May bear the full tax liability (including interest and penalties) that would otherwise be shared with their victims.
Key Provisions
- Creates new Section 6015(h) in the Internal Revenue Code establishing relief procedures for domestic violence survivors
- Allows relief when the survivor either did not know about the tax understatement OR knew but was coerced through fear, threats, or duress
- Creates a presumption in favor of relief when the survivor provides evidence of domestic violence or abuse
- Protects survivors' safety by prohibiting IRS notices to the abuser from mentioning the relief request or any reference to domestic abuse
- Applies to all relief requests made after the bill's enactment
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes IRS procedures for domestic violence survivors to obtain relief from joint tax return liability when the tax understatement was attributable to their abusive spouse.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Create a specific carve-out in existing innocent spouse relief provisions to address the unique circumstances of domestic violence survivors who face barriers in challenging erroneous tax returns"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Domestic violence survivors who filed joint tax returns with their abusers
- Family members of domestic violence victims
- Tax relief advocates and legal aid organizations
Likely Burden Bearers
- IRS (must establish new procedures and handle relief requests)
- Abusive spouses who may bear full tax liability
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
- "requesting_spouse"
- → Individual seeking relief from joint tax liability due to domestic violence
- "nonrequesting_spouse"
- → Individual who committed domestic violence and is responsible for tax understatement
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The individual filing a joint return who is responsible for the understatement of tax attributable to erroneous items
The other individual on the joint return who was a victim of domestic violence or abuse by the nonrequesting spouse, or whose family member was a victim
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology