Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act
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Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act
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.
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 analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House" stage on April 9, 2026. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (CR S5241)
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The record's latest action, on September 30, 2026: Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (CR S5241)
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) introduced it on March 25, 2025, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 25, 2025, 581 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 27 days ago, on September 30, 2026.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseCloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (CR S5241)
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action