YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyTargeted & Unrelated ProvisionsMoney lost to scams could be written off on your taxes again — back to 2021 losses, plus more time to claim a refund.
Your Money
Since 2018, a personal theft or property loss has counted at tax time only when a declared disaster caused it. That rule would go away for tax years after 2025. Scam and fraud losses from 2021 through 2025 would count too, so those victims could file for a refund of past taxes.
Today a theft loss is claimed in the year you find out about it. For a theft that involved fraud or deceit, you could instead pick the year the money was taken. The Treasury Department would set the rules for which frauds count.
Refund claims normally close about three years after you file. Here the window would stay open at least one year past the day you find the loss. For a loss found before the law passes, that year would start on the day it passes. The usual cap on how far back a refund reaches would be turned off.
You could pay back up to the amount you took out, any time within one year of finding the loss. The money put back counts as a rollover, so the income tax on it comes back too.
The bill sets a clock for the IRS. Refund claims for these scam losses, the foundation losses, and the retirement withdrawals would have to be processed within two years of filing. The bill does not say what happens if the IRS misses that deadline.
Taking money out of a retirement account early usually adds a 10 percent tax. That extra tax would not apply to the part of the money tied to a theft loss you can deduct. This would cover withdrawals made after 2020.
Targeted & Unrelated Provisions
Some homes, mostly in the Northeast, have foundations that crack apart because of a mineral in the concrete. Owners could claim those losses for 2021 through 2025. They get one year after the law passes to file.
More about this bill
If a scam or a theft takes your money, you could write off the loss on your taxes again. A 2017 tax law blocked that write-off unless the loss came from a declared disaster. A 2025 law made that block permanent. Today the write-off still works for money lost in an investment, but not for a personal loss like a romance scam. The House passed this bill on September 15, 2026. It would close that gap for losses in tax years after 2025. Scam losses from 2021 through 2025 would count too, so victims from those years could file for a refund. Fraud victims would also get more time and more choices. You could count the loss in the year it happened instead of the year you found out. You would have at least one year after you discover a theft to ask for a refund of past taxes. For a theft found before the law passes, that year would start on the day it passes. The IRS would have to process these refund claims within two years. If a scammer drained a retirement account, the usual 10 percent early-withdrawal tax would not apply. That relief would reach back to withdrawals made after 2020. Old limits stay. You have to itemize, subtract $100 per loss, and count only the part above 10 percent of your income. One part has nothing to do with fraud. Homeowners whose concrete foundations are crumbling from a mineral called pyrrhotite could claim those losses for 2021 through 2025. They would get one year after the law passes to file the claim.
Congressional Summary
Congress's official summary of this bill still describes an earlier version of the text, so we have left it out here. You can read it on Congress.gov.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Passed House
- Action Date
- 2026-09-15
- Date Added
- 2026-09-11
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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