Bill would make tax filing easier for survivors of domestic abuse
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Catherine Cortez Masto, D-N.V., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, introduced the Survivors Assistance for Fear-free and Easy Tax Filing (SAFE Tax Filing) Act of 2025.
By making it easier for survivors of spousal abuse or abandonment to file their taxes, the SAFE Tax Filing Act will help survivors rebuild their lives and is another step toward stopping economic coercion in abusive marriages.
“We can and should do everything we can to make life easier for survivors of domestic abuse,” Fetterman said. “I’m proud to partner with Sens. Cornyn, Cortez Masto and Ernst to introduce this bill to allow survivors file their taxes and receive the biggest refund they can under law, without being forced to contact their abusers. It’s really the least we can do. Let’s get this done.”
The SAFE Tax Filing Act allows spousal abuse survivors to file their taxes as if they are unmarried. Currently, laws require survivors to either file their taxes jointly with their abuser or to file as Married Filing Separately, a disadvantageous status that could reduce their tax refund. This bill ends the requirement that survivors must contact their abusers to get the biggest tax refund they’re eligible for to support themselves and their families.
The SAFE Tax Filing Act is endorsed by the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the Center for Survivor Agency and Justice, Futures Without Violence, and Just Solutions.
“The SAFE Tax Filing Act of 2025 is more than tax reform — it’s a lifeline,” said Pamela Jacobs, JD, CEO, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. “It recognizes that survivors of abuse deserve safety, autonomy, and freedom from financial entanglement with those who’ve harmed them. This legislation honors the reality of survivors’ lives and removes another barrier on their path to healing and independence.”
“PCADV supports efforts to provide survivors with options to manage their lives free from abuse,” said Susan Higginbotham, CEO, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “99% of domestic violence situations involve financial abuse, and the SAFE Tax Filing Act is another tool that would allow survivors a measure of self-determination.”
“The National Domestic Violence Hotline is deeply grateful to Sens Fetterman and Cornyn for introducing the SAFE Tax Filing Act of 2025,” said Katie Ray-Jones, CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. “Victims and survivors of domestic violence deserve to rebuild their lives safely and with dignity. This bill recognizes the complex realities victims and survivors face and removes a critical barrier when filing taxes.”
