HR 9496 United States House · 119th Congress

End Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act

The End Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act modifies the Internal Revenue Code to protect United States nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad from tax penalties and interest. It achieves this by disregarding the time spent in captivity when calculating tax deadlines, interest accruals, and penalty amounts, while also requiring the Treasury Department to update its systems to suspend collection activities for these individuals. Additionally, the bill establishes a program to refund or abate any taxes, penalties, or interest that eligible individuals paid during the period from January 1, 2021, to the date of the law's enactment. To implement these changes, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General must provide lists of affected individuals to the Treasury by January 1, 2027, and notify them of their eligibility for refunds.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jun 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
President
Introduced Jun 29, 2026 Last action Sep 8, 2026
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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Sep 8, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-797.
lower
Jul 1, 2026
Lower · Passed
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
lower
Jun 29, 2026
Committee
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
lower
Jun 29, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors