# 119-hr-990: SAFE Act

119-hr-990, SAFE Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-990
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-990
- Congress: 119
- Title: SAFE Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-05
- Sponsor: Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Taxation
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Avoid the late-payment penalty by prepaying 125% of your prior-year tax.** The bill would add a safe harbor to the tax code that exempts individuals from the usual late-payment penalty if they timely pay 125 percent of the prior year's tax by the current year's payment due date. - Individuals and families who pay 125% of last year’s tax by the payment due date would be shielded from the Section 6651(a)(2) late-payment penalty, provided they file the current-year return on time. - Couples and joint filers get special rules. A prior-year joint return can be used to meet the 125% test and a spouse’s prior filing status affects how the amount is calculated. - Taxpayers who did not file a return for the immediately preceding year or whose prior taxable year was under 12 months would not qualify for the safe harbor. - The safe harbor is only available when any additional payments are made with a timely filed return and is assessed as of the earlier of the return due date or the date the return is filed. - Would apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Carey, Mike [R-OH-15] (R-OH), 2025-02-05T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Avoid late-payment penalty by prepaying: benefit, medium. If enacted, you would be able to avoid the IRS failure-to-pay penalty for a tax year by paying 125% of the tax shown on your prior year's return on or before the payment due date (including any payment extension). The rule would only apply if you file the current-year return by its due date (includ…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-990 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/990)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6900)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-990 (as of 2025-12-21).