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Trump administration wants tax filers to reveal citizenship status: What changes, who could be affected and why it matters
The Trump administration proposes a new tax form requirement for US taxpayers to disclose their citizenship status.
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The Trump administration has proposed requiring US taxpayers to disclose their citizenship and work authorization status to the Internal Revenue Service on the annual tax form filed by nearly all workers.
The draft 2026 Form 1040 posted by the IRS includes a question asking whether the taxpayer and their spouse, if filing jointly, are a US citizen, US national or an “alien lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.” The form provides “Yes” and “No” checkboxes for both the filer and spouse.
Under the proposal, taxpayers would have to certify their immigration or citizenship status to the IRS under penalty of law to file their return.
The Treasury Department said the question is intended to prevent illegal migrants from receiving refundable tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit when they are not eligible.
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A Treasury official said information collected would be subject to privacy, disclosure and other legal protections. However, the official statement did not say whether the information would be shared with federal immigration enforcement to target a person for arrest and deportation.
Who could be affected
The proposal comes as the administration argues that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which governs eligibility for benefit programs, should also apply to refundable tax credits.
Fox News reported that some migrants who currently qualify for certain credits could lose eligibility under the proposed policy. Those groups include people covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, people with temporary protected status and temporary workers in the US on H-1B visas.
A research paper published this week estimated that 671,000 people, including 309,000 children, would lose the Earned Income Tax Credit under the proposal. Another 1.1 million people, including 574,000 children, would lose the Additional Child Tax Credit.
A new question on the annual tax return
For most taxpayers, the change would appear as a new question on the annual Form 1040. The draft 2026 form asks whether the taxpayer, and their spouse if filing jointly, is a US citizen, US national or an alien lawfully authorized to work in the US.
The form provides “Yes” or “No” boxes for both the taxpayer and spouse. A similar question appears on Schedule 3-A, which is used to claim certain refundable tax credits.
The question would not be optional. According to the reporting, taxpayers would have to certify their citizenship or immigration status under penalty of law in order to file their return.
The IRS already uses Social Security Administration records to check Social Security numbers for Earned Income Tax Credit claims. Taxpayers who use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, cannot claim the EITC because a valid Social Security number is required for that credit.
