“A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow certain abused or abandoned spouses to file as unmarried or heads of households.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section expands eligibility under section 7703(b) of the Internal Revenue Code for married individuals to elect treatment as unmarried by adding survivors of domestic abuse (i.e., physical, psychological, sexual, emotional, or economic abuse, determined by facts and circumstances) or spousal abandonment (i.e., spouse cannot be located after reasonable diligence) who are living apart from their spouse at year-end and indicate the election on their tax return. (Thus, such individuals may qualify for head-of-household filing status or other tax benefits available to unmarried taxpayers, without affecting their spouse's married status.) This section also requires tax return preparers to exercise due diligence in determining eligibility for this election under section 6695(g). The amendments apply to taxable years ending after the date of enactment.