diff --git a/changelog.d/7950.misc b/changelog.d/7950.misc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f6bfa2f1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/7950.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Simplify error handling in federation handler.
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/federation.py b/synapse/handlers/federation.py
index 758ffdf01..f5f683bfd 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/federation.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/federation.py
@@ -1887,9 +1887,6 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
             origin, event, state=state, auth_events=auth_events, backfilled=backfilled
         )
 
-        # reraise does not allow inlineCallbacks to preserve the stacktrace, so we
-        # hack around with a try/finally instead.
-        success = False
         try:
             if (
                 not event.internal_metadata.is_outlier()
@@ -1903,12 +1900,11 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
             await self.persist_events_and_notify(
                 [(event, context)], backfilled=backfilled
             )
-            success = True
-        finally:
-            if not success:
-                run_in_background(
-                    self.store.remove_push_actions_from_staging, event.event_id
-                )
+        except Exception:
+            run_in_background(
+                self.store.remove_push_actions_from_staging, event.event_id
+            )
+            raise
 
         return context
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/message.py b/synapse/handlers/message.py
index 172a7214b..e451d6dc8 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/message.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/message.py
@@ -857,9 +857,6 @@ class EventCreationHandler(object):
 
         await self.action_generator.handle_push_actions_for_event(event, context)
 
-        # reraise does not allow inlineCallbacks to preserve the stacktrace, so we
-        # hack around with a try/finally instead.
-        success = False
         try:
             # If we're a worker we need to hit out to the master.
             if not self._is_event_writer:
@@ -875,22 +872,20 @@ class EventCreationHandler(object):
                 )
                 stream_id = result["stream_id"]
                 event.internal_metadata.stream_ordering = stream_id
-                success = True
                 return stream_id
 
             stream_id = await self.persist_and_notify_client_event(
                 requester, event, context, ratelimit=ratelimit, extra_users=extra_users
             )
 
-            success = True
             return stream_id
-        finally:
-            if not success:
-                # Ensure that we actually remove the entries in the push actions
-                # staging area, if we calculated them.
-                run_in_background(
-                    self.store.remove_push_actions_from_staging, event.event_id
-                )
+        except Exception:
+            # Ensure that we actually remove the entries in the push actions
+            # staging area, if we calculated them.
+            run_in_background(
+                self.store.remove_push_actions_from_staging, event.event_id
+            )
+            raise
 
     async def _validate_canonical_alias(
         self, directory_handler, room_alias_str: str, expected_room_id: str