# 119-s-4497: Tax Relief for First Responder Beneficiaries Act

119-s-4497, Tax Relief for First Responder Beneficiaries Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-02).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4497
- As of: 2026-07-02
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4497
- Congress: 119
- Title: Tax Relief for First Responder Beneficiaries Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-05-12
- Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Taxation
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-02

## Summary

**Would broaden tax-free death benefits and survivor annuity coverage for beneficiaries of public safety officers.** This bill would change who can get tax-excluded death-benefit and survivor-annuity payments and would extend survivor annuity eligibility to beneficiaries of life insurance policies or benefit plans. The changes apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2022. - Families of fallen public safety officers: More relatives and named beneficiaries could receive survivor annuity payments because the bill replaces the phrase "a child of such officer" with "a child or a beneficiary of any life insurance policy or benefit plan." - Beneficiaries of life insurance and benefit plans: Death-benefit and survivor-annuity payments to these beneficiaries would be treated as excluded from taxable income by changing "surviving dependents" to "surviving beneficiaries." - Tax filing clarity: The bill updates Internal Revenue Code language so these broader groups are explicitly covered for tax exclusion for tax years after 2022.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Lower taxes for first responder beneficiaries: benefit, medium. If enacted, this bill would let more people exclude certain death payments and survivor annuities received after a public safety officer's death from taxable income. It would replace the phrase "surviving dependents" with "surviving beneficiaries" for the relevant tax exclusion. It would also expan…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-4203: Voter Empowerment Act of 2026
- 119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act

## Sources
- [119-s-4497 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4497)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-524)
- [119-s-4203: Voter Empowerment Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4203)
- [119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2120)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4497 (as of 2026-07-02).