Crapo Supports Bill to Ensure Gold Star Families Receive Survivor Benefits

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) today co-sponsored the Gold Star Family Tax Relief Act to provide tax relief for families who have lost a parent serving in the military.  

“Gold Star families have made an extraordinary sacrifice in supporting their loved ones’ service in the military and should not have to face additional hardships after their loss,”  said Senator Crapo.  “This legislation ensures Gold Star families do not face unintended and unfair tax penalties on their survivor benefits.  We owe nothing less to the families of our nation’s fallen servicemembers.” 

U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Doug Jones (D-AL), Pat Toomey (R-PA), and Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the measure.  U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Burr (R-NC), Bob Casey (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Patty Murray (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Tim Scott (R-SC), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Jon Tester (D-MT) are also co-sponsors of the legislation. 

Background

Simplification in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of a special tax dating back to 1986 that was intended to stop wealthy parents from sheltering income by shifting it to their children with lower tax rates inadvertently caused some military survivor benefits to be taxed at a higher rate.  This bipartisan legislation resolves an unintended tax treatment of survivor benefits and effectively excludes these benefits from the special 1986 tax. 

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