U.S. Senators Young, Cortez Masto introduce bipartisan legislation to end unfair tax burden on sexual assault survivors

Tuesday, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced bipartisan legislation to eliminate an unfair tax burden on survivors of sexual assault. The Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act would ensure that survivors of sexual assault are not taxed on settlement income they earn in a lawsuit against their abuser.

 After prevailing legally against their abuser, the IRS requires sexual abuse survivors to pay income tax on any settlement money they receive unless they can show visible evidence of physical injury. However, injuries resulting from sexual assault are not always visible or may have healed by the time a settlement is reached. The Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act would correct this unfair treatment.

 “Survivors of sexual assault who have courageously sought justice should not face an additional, unfair burden from our tax code,” said Senator Young. “Our bipartisan legislation will fix this injustice and ensure survivors can receive the full compensation they are owed. This common-sense change will provide greater fairness for survivors and ensure the tax code does not create another obstacle on the path to justice.”

 “Seeking justice as a sexual assault survivor requires enormous bravery, effort, and time,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “It’s unfair that when survivors do reach a settlement, they have to pay taxes on the payments they fought so hard for unless they can show visual evidence of injury on the most private parts of their bodies. This legislation ensures that all survivors receive their full settlements.”

 Specifically, the Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act would allow damages to qualify for the tax exclusion when a victim presents to the IRS a court decision or settlement agreement stating that such damages were received on account of any sexual act or sexual contact, as defined in the federal criminal code.

 The full text of the legislation can be found here. The legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this Congress by Representatives Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) and Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) and passed unanimously out of the House in April.