# 119-s-5173: Fairness in Foreign Filing Act

119-s-5173, Fairness in Foreign Filing Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-30).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5173
- As of: 2026-09-30
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5173
- Congress: 119
- Title: Fairness in Foreign Filing Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-30
- Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Taxation
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-30

## Summary

**This bill would create a preliminary notice and right of review before assessing certain foreign‑filing penalties.** It would also treat many penalties as collectible like taxes and remove select due‑date rules for foreign trust information returns for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026. - Taxpayers facing covered penalties would receive a written notice showing the proposed penalty, the tax periods, and the basis, and would have 60 days to request review by the IRS Independent Office of Appeals. For taxpayers outside the United States those timelines are 120 days. - Trustees and U.S. taxpayers with foreign trusts would see specified information‑return due‑date rules repealed for returns for tax years starting after December 31, 2026. - The bill would clarify that many penalties are treated as penalties and liabilities collectible like taxes under the tax code, while excepting penalties that must be collected by civil or criminal action or were previously treated that way.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New review before certain IRS penalties: benefit, medium. If enacted, the IRS would have to mail a written notice before assessing certain covered penalties. The notice would identify the proposed penalty, the years involved, the basis for the penalty, and how to request review. Notices must be mailed at least 60 days before any notice and demand (120 day…
- Repeal of foreign trust due dates: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would strike two specific due‑date requirements for information returns about foreign trusts. The repeal would apply to returns for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026. Filers of foreign-trust information returns (often high‑net‑worth individuals or entities) would…
- IRS penalties treated like taxes: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would say that penalties under the Internal Revenue Code are penalties and liabilities subject to tax collection rules. It would still exclude penalties that are collected by civil or criminal action or that the IRS consistently treated that way before enactment. This would cla…

## Related bills

- 119-s-4949: Water Resources Development Act of 2026
- 119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-93: Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-5173 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5173)

## Related
- [119-s-4949: Water Resources Development Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4949)
- [119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4744)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-93: Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-93)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5173 (as of 2026-09-30).