This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals who are survivors of domestic abuse or spousal abandonment to elect to be treated as unmarried for tax filing purposes. This provision aims to provide tax relief, potentially enabling them to file as single or head of household, rather than married filing separately. To qualify, an individual must be living apart from their spouse on the last day of the taxable year and indicate their status on their tax return. The bill broadly defines domestic abuse to include physical, psychological, emotional, or economic abuse, and spousal abandonment as the inability to locate a spouse after reasonable diligence. Crucially, this election affects only the survivor's filing status and does not alter the tax treatment of the abusive or abandoning spouse. Furthermore, tax return preparers will be required to exercise due diligence in verifying eligibility for this new election.
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Timeline
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Taxation
SAFE Tax Filing Act of 2025
USA119th CongressS-2129| Senate
| Updated: 6/18/2025
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals who are survivors of domestic abuse or spousal abandonment to elect to be treated as unmarried for tax filing purposes. This provision aims to provide tax relief, potentially enabling them to file as single or head of household, rather than married filing separately. To qualify, an individual must be living apart from their spouse on the last day of the taxable year and indicate their status on their tax return. The bill broadly defines domestic abuse to include physical, psychological, emotional, or economic abuse, and spousal abandonment as the inability to locate a spouse after reasonable diligence. Crucially, this election affects only the survivor's filing status and does not alter the tax treatment of the abusive or abandoning spouse. Furthermore, tax return preparers will be required to exercise due diligence in verifying eligibility for this new election.