Enrolled Bill

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9496 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.9496

                     One Hundred Nineteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Saturday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-six


                                 An Act


 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to postpone tax deadlines and 
reimburse paid late fees for United States nationals who are unlawfully 
 or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``End Tax Penalties on American 
Hostages Act''.
SEC. 2. POSTPONEMENT OF TAX DEADLINES FOR HOSTAGES AND INDIVIDUALS 
WRONGFULLY DETAINED ABROAD.
    (a) In General.--Chapter 77 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by inserting after section 7510 the following new section:
``SEC. 7511. TIME FOR PERFORMING CERTAIN ACTS POSTPONED FOR HOSTAGES 
AND INDIVIDUALS WRONGFULLY DETAINED ABROAD.
    ``(a) Time to Be Disregarded.--
        ``(1) In general.--The period during which an applicable 
    individual was unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad, or held 
    hostage abroad, shall be disregarded in determining, under the 
    internal revenue laws, in respect of any tax liability of such 
    individual--
            ``(A) whether any of the acts described in section 
        7508(a)(1) were performed within the time prescribed thereof 
        (determined without regard to extension under any other 
        provision of this subtitle for periods after the initial date 
        (as determined by the Secretary) on which such individual was 
        unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad or held hostage 
        abroad),
            ``(B) the amount of any interest, penalty, additional 
        amount, or addition to the tax for periods after such date, and
            ``(C) the amount of any credit or refund.
        ``(2) Application to spouse.--The provisions of paragraph (1) 
    shall apply to the spouse of any individual entitled to the 
    benefits of such paragraph.
    ``(b) Applicable Individual.--
        ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the term 
    `applicable individual' means any individual who is--
            ``(A) a United States national unlawfully or wrongfully 
        detained abroad, as determined under section 302 of the Robert 
        Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act 
        (22 U.S.C. 1741), or
            ``(B) a United States national taken hostage abroad, as 
        determined pursuant to the findings of the Hostage Recovery 
        Fusion Cell (as described in section 304 of the Robert Levinson 
        Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 
        U.S.C. 1741b)).
        ``(2) Information provided to treasury.--For purposes of 
    identifying individuals described in paragraph (1), not later than 
    January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter--
            ``(A) the Secretary of State shall provide the Secretary 
        with a list of the individuals described in paragraph (1)(A), 
        as well as any other information necessary to identify such 
        individuals, and
            ``(B) the Attorney General, acting through the Hostage 
        Recovery Fusion Cell, shall provide the Secretary with a list 
        of the individuals described in paragraph (1)(B), as well as 
        any other information necessary to identify such individuals.
    ``(c) Special Rule for Overpayments.--
        ``(1) In general.--Subsection (a) shall not apply for purposes 
    of determining the amount of interest on any overpayment of tax.
        ``(2) Special rules.--If an individual is entitled to the 
    benefits of subsection (a) with respect to any return and such 
    return is timely filed (determined after the application of such 
    subsection), subsections (b)(3) and (e) of section 6611 shall not 
    apply.
    ``(d) Modification of Treasury Databases and Information Systems.--
The Secretary shall ensure that databases and information systems of 
the Department of the Treasury are updated as necessary to ensure that 
statute expiration dates, interest and penalty accrual, and collection 
activities are suspended consistent with the application of subsection 
(a).
    ``(e) Refund and Abatement of Penalties and Fines Imposed Prior to 
Identification as Applicable Individual.--In the case of any applicable 
individual--
        ``(1) for whom any interest, penalty, additional amount, or 
    addition to the tax in respect to any tax liability for any taxable 
    year ending during the period described in subsection (a)(1) was 
    assessed or collected, and
        ``(2) who was, subsequent to such assessment or collection, 
    determined to be an individual described in subparagraph (A) or (B) 
    of subsection (b)(1),
the Secretary shall abate any such assessment and refund any amount 
collected to such applicable individual in the same manner as any 
refund of an overpayment of tax under section 6402.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 77 of 
such Code is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
7510 the following new item:
``Sec. 7511. Time for performing certain acts postponed for hostages and 
          individuals wrongfully detained abroad.''.

    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years ending after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
SEC. 3. REFUND AND ABATEMENT OF PENALTIES AND FINES PAID BY ELIGIBLE 
INDIVIDUALS.
    (a) In General.--Section 7511 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
as added by section 2, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(f) Refund and Abatement of Penalties and Fines Paid by Eligible 
Individuals With Respect to Periods Prior to Date of Enactment of This 
Section.--
        ``(1) In general.--
            ``(A) Establishment.--Not later than January 1, 2027, the 
        Secretary (in consultation with the Secretary of State and the 
        Attorney General) shall establish a program to allow any 
        eligible individual (or the spouse or any dependent (as defined 
        in section 152) of such individual) to apply for a refund or an 
        abatement of any amount described in paragraph (2) (including 
        interest) to the extent such amount was attributable to the 
        applicable period.
            ``(B) Identification of individuals.--Not later than 
        January 1, 2027, the Secretary of State and the Attorney 
        General, acting through the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell (as 
        described in section 304 of the Robert Levinson Hostage 
        Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 
        1741b)), shall--
                ``(i) compile a list, based on such information as is 
            available, of individuals who were eligible individuals 
            during the applicable period, and
                ``(ii) provide the list described in clause (i) to the 
            Secretary.
            ``(C) Notice.--For purposes of carrying out the program 
        described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary (in consultation 
        with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General) shall, 
        with respect to any individual identified under subparagraph 
        (B), provide notice to such individual--
                ``(i) in the case of an individual who has been 
            released on or before the date of the enactment of this 
            subsection, not later than 90 days after the date of the 
            enactment of this subsection, or
                ``(ii) in the case of an individual who is released 
            after the date of the enactment of this subsection, not 
            later than 90 days after the date on which such individual 
            is released,
        that such individual may be eligible for a refund or an 
        abatement of any amount described in paragraph (2) pursuant to 
        the program described in subparagraph (A).
            ``(D) Authorization.--
                ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), in the case 
            of any refund described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
            shall issue such refund to the eligible individual in the 
            same manner as any refund of an overpayment of tax.
                ``(ii) Extension of limitation on time for refund.--
            With respect to any refund under subparagraph (A)--

                    ``(I) the 3-year period of limitation prescribed by 
                section 6511(a) shall be extended until the end of the 
                1-year period beginning on the date that the notice 
                described in subparagraph (C) is provided to the 
                eligible individual, and
                    ``(II) any limitation under section 6511(b)(2) 
                shall not apply.

        ``(2) Eligible individual.--For purposes of this subsection, 
    the term `eligible individual' means any applicable individual who, 
    for any taxable year ending during the applicable period, paid or 
    incurred any interest, penalty, additional amount, or addition to 
    the tax in respect to any tax liability for such year of such 
    individual based on a determination that an act described in 
    section 7508(a)(1) was not performed by the time prescribed 
    therefor (without regard to any extensions).
        ``(3) Applicable period.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
    term `applicable period' means the period--
            ``(A) beginning on January 1, 2021, and
            ``(B) ending on the date of the enactment of this 
        subsection.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to taxable years ending on or before the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.