Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act (S. 5395)

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.