The IRS has released information regarding how taxpayers who received payments for wrongful incarceration that Congress retroactively made not subject to income tax as part of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015. The IRS issued both a news release (IR-2016-88) and a set of frequently asked questions regarding new IRC §139F.

The new provision provides for an exclusion from income for “any civil damages, restitution, or other monetary award” related to incarceration of an individual for a “covered offense” for which the taxpayer was convicted.