Here’s what happened.
Millions of Americans could eventually see a new question when they file their federal income taxes under a proposal from the Trump administration that would require taxpayers to disclose additional information about their citizenship or authorization to work in the United States.
The proposed change appears on a draft version of the 2026 Form 1040 released by the Internal Revenue Service.
Under the proposal, taxpayers would be asked whether they — and their spouse when filing jointly — are a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or an individual legally authorized to work in the United States.
Administration officials say the change is intended to improve enforcement of eligibility requirements for certain refundable federal tax credits and prevent benefits from being issued to people who do not qualify under federal law.
The administration has estimated that tighter enforcement could potentially save taxpayers as much as $2 billion.
The proposal is already generating a broader debate over federal tax policy, immigration enforcement, taxpayer privacy and the future of several popular tax credits.
New Citizenship Question Could Appear On IRS Form 1040
The draft 2026 Form 1040 includes a new question asking filers about their citizenship or legal authorization to work in the United States at the time they submit their tax return.
The form provides separate “Yes” and “No” boxes for the taxpayer and, when filing jointly, the taxpayer’s spouse.
A similar question also appears on a draft version of Schedule 3-A, a form associated with certain refundable tax credits.
If the IRS ultimately adopts the proposal, taxpayers would certify the information as part of their federal return.
Like other information submitted to the IRS, taxpayers would be responsible for providing accurate answers under federal law.
The change could make immigration and work authorization status a more visible part of the annual federal tax filing process.
Why The Trump Administration Wants The Change
The Treasury Department says the proposal is designed to help the federal government determine whether taxpayers claiming certain refundable credits satisfy applicable eligibility requirements.
Refundable tax credits can be especially valuable to working families because they may generate a tax refund even when the value of the credit exceeds the amount of income tax owed.
Among the programs receiving attention are the Earned Income Tax Credit, commonly called the EITC, and the Additional Child Tax Credit.
Both programs can provide significant financial assistance to qualifying households.
Administration officials argue that the government should have stronger safeguards to ensure federal tax benefits are paid only to taxpayers who qualify under the law.
The proposal would add citizenship and work authorization information directly to the tax filing process as another method of verifying eligibility.
How The Earned Income Tax Credit Works
The Earned Income Tax Credit is one of the largest federal tax benefits available to lower- and moderate-income workers.
The amount a household may receive depends on factors including income, filing status and the number of qualifying children.
Current federal law already contains Social Security number requirements for taxpayers seeking the EITC.
The IRS checks Social Security numbers used on EITC claims against records maintained by the Social Security Administration.
Workers who file taxes using only an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, generally cannot claim the Earned Income Tax Credit.
The Trump administration’s proposal would add another layer of eligibility verification by examining citizenship and work authorization status.
What Is An ITIN?
An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is a tax-processing number issued by the IRS to certain people who need to comply with federal tax laws but are not eligible to receive a Social Security number.
ITINs are used for several purposes and are not limited to undocumented immigrants.
However, undocumented workers who earn income in the United States are among those who may use an ITIN to file federal income taxes.
According to findings from the National Taxpayer Advocate, approximately 3.8 million tax returns filed in 2024 included an ITIN taxpayer.
IRS figures associated with those returns showed approximately $14.4 billion in federal income taxes and another $6.5 billion in Social Security and Medicare taxes were paid.
Those numbers highlight one of the more complicated aspects of the policy debate.
Some individuals who lack permanent legal immigration status still pay federal taxes while remaining ineligible for many government programs and benefits.
Who Could Be Affected By The Proposal?
The proposal could potentially affect more than undocumented immigrants.
Some people who currently have legal authorization to work in the United States could also face changes in their eligibility for certain refundable tax credits.
Potentially affected groups could include certain individuals covered by:
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, commonly known as DACA
- Temporary Protected Status
- Certain temporary employment visas
- Other immigration categories that provide authorization to work without granting permanent residency or citizenship
The administration argues that eligibility rules contained in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act should also apply to certain refundable tax credits.
That interpretation could narrow the group of taxpayers permitted to claim those benefits.
Researchers Estimate Significant Changes To Tax Credits
Outside researchers have attempted to estimate how many households could be affected if the proposed eligibility restrictions take effect.
Researchers affiliated with Boston University, Columbia University and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated that approximately 671,000 people could lose eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit.
That estimate includes approximately 309,000 children.
The researchers also estimated that roughly 1.1 million people could lose eligibility for the Additional Child Tax Credit, including approximately 574,000 children.
According to the analysis, many of the affected children could be U.S. citizens living in households where a parent’s immigration or citizenship status changes the family’s eligibility.
Those figures are estimates produced by outside researchers and should be distinguished from the Trump administration’s own projections regarding potential federal savings.
Supporters Say The Government Should Verify Eligibility
Supporters of the proposed change argue that refundable federal tax credits should be limited to people who satisfy every eligibility requirement established by Congress.
From that perspective, asking taxpayers to verify citizenship or legal work authorization could provide the IRS with another method of preventing improper payments.
Concerns over improper payments have existed across numerous federal benefit programs for years.
The federal government regularly attempts to improve identity verification, eligibility reviews and fraud prevention in programs involving taxpayer money.
The Trump administration’s proposal would extend that approach more directly into the tax filing system.
For taxpayers concerned about government spending, the central question is whether the new reporting requirement can reduce improper payments without creating unnecessary complications for legitimate taxpayers.
Critics Raise Taxpayer Privacy Concerns
Opponents of the proposal argue that placing immigration-related questions on Form 1040 could discourage some people from filing federal tax returns.
Taxpayer privacy has long been an important part of the federal tax system.
Federal law generally places significant restrictions on how confidential tax return information can be disclosed or shared.
The Treasury Department has said information collected through the proposed question would remain subject to existing privacy, disclosure and legal protections.
Critics nevertheless question whether citizenship or work authorization information could eventually be used for immigration enforcement.
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, has argued that the information could potentially become useful to immigration authorities.
Nina Olson, executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, has also raised concerns about expanding the IRS’s involvement in immigration policy.
Could The New Question Discourage Tax Filing?
One possible consequence is that some undocumented taxpayers may become reluctant to file federal income tax returns.
People without lawful immigration status could face a difficult decision if they believe information included on a tax return might later reach immigration enforcement agencies.
At the same time, deliberately providing false information on a federal tax return can carry serious legal consequences.
Critics therefore argue that some individuals may respond by leaving the tax system entirely.
That possibility could create a policy tradeoff.
The federal government wants accurate information and compliance with tax laws, while immigration officials also seek to enforce existing immigration laws.
How those two goals interact could become an important issue as the proposal receives additional scrutiny.
Previous IRS And ICE Data-Sharing Dispute
The privacy debate has been intensified by a previous effort involving the IRS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Treasury Department previously reached an agreement allowing certain confidential taxpayer information to be shared with ICE to assist immigration enforcement efforts.
A federal judge later blocked that arrangement, finding that the data-sharing effort conflicted with federal taxpayer privacy protections.
Before the agreement was halted, however, the IRS had already provided address information involving approximately 47,000 people.
That earlier dispute is likely to influence how lawmakers, courts, tax professionals and privacy advocates evaluate the proposed citizenship question.
Why Tax Return Privacy Matters
Federal tax confidentiality rules exist partly because the government relies on taxpayers to voluntarily disclose sensitive financial information every year.
Tax returns may contain details about:
- Income
- Employment
- Investments
- Dependents
- Business activity
- Retirement accounts
- Health-related tax benefits
- Homeownership
- Charitable giving
Strong privacy protections are intended to give taxpayers confidence that their financial information will not routinely be distributed for unrelated government purposes.
The debate over the proposed citizenship question therefore goes beyond immigration.
It also raises a larger question about how much personal information the IRS should collect and how that information should be used.
What Could Change For Married Couples?
Married couples filing jointly could face an additional consideration because the proposed Form 1040 asks separately about the status of each spouse.
That could be particularly important for so-called mixed-status households where family members have different citizenship or immigration classifications.
A U.S. citizen married to someone with temporary immigration status, for example, could potentially encounter different eligibility rules depending on how the final regulations are structured.
Families that currently qualify for refundable tax credits may therefore want to pay close attention to any final IRS guidance.
Tax professionals would also likely need to adjust their filing procedures and client questionnaires if the proposal takes effect.
What Could Change For Families With Children?
The Additional Child Tax Credit is particularly important for families because it can provide refundable tax benefits for qualifying children.
Under the proposed policy, some households containing U.S.-citizen children could potentially lose eligibility based on the status of a parent.
That possibility is one reason the proposal has attracted attention from tax researchers and immigration policy organizations.
The final impact would depend on exactly how Treasury and the IRS implement the eligibility rules.
Families should therefore avoid assuming that the draft language represents the final tax form.
Is The New IRS Question Final?
No.
The citizenship and work authorization question currently appears on a draft 2026 Form 1040.
Draft IRS forms are released in advance so tax professionals, software companies, government agencies and the public can prepare for possible changes.
The IRS can revise forms before releasing the final version.
That means the wording, eligibility rules or implementation details could still change.
Taxpayers generally should rely on finalized IRS instructions when preparing an actual federal income tax return.
What Taxpayers Should Do Now
Most taxpayers do not need to make any immediate changes based solely on the draft form.
However, people who claim refundable tax credits or live in households with different immigration statuses may want to follow future IRS and Treasury announcements closely.
Tax professionals could also play an important role in explaining how any final rules affect individual households.
As with any major tax change, taxpayers should make decisions based on finalized federal guidance rather than political commentary or unofficial interpretations.
Why This IRS Proposal Matters
Form 1040 is the foundation of the federal individual income tax system.
Any significant change to the information requested on that form can potentially affect millions of taxpayers, tax preparers, accounting firms and tax software companies.
The citizenship proposal also combines several major public-policy issues in one place:
tax enforcement, immigration policy, government spending, refundable tax credits and taxpayer privacy.
Supporters see the proposal as another verification tool that could help prevent federal tax benefits from reaching people who do not satisfy eligibility rules.
Critics are concerned that collecting immigration information through the IRS could discourage tax compliance and expand the government’s use of confidential taxpayer data.
The ultimate impact will depend on whether the draft proposal becomes part of the final 2026 federal tax forms and how Treasury interprets the underlying eligibility requirements.
For millions of taxpayers, that makes the final version of Form 1040 worth watching closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The IRS Adding A Citizenship Question To Form 1040?
A citizenship and work authorization question appears on a draft version of the 2026 Form 1040. The form has not necessarily been finalized, meaning the language could still change.
Will Every Taxpayer Have To Answer The Question?
If the draft proposal is adopted in its current form, taxpayers filing Form 1040 would be asked to provide citizenship or legal work authorization information for themselves and, when filing jointly, their spouse.
Can Undocumented Immigrants File Federal Income Taxes?
Yes. People can have federal tax obligations regardless of immigration status. Some individuals who are not eligible for Social Security numbers use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers to file tax returns.
Can Someone With An ITIN Claim The Earned Income Tax Credit?
Generally, taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit must satisfy Social Security number requirements. An ITIN alone generally does not qualify a taxpayer for the EITC.
Could The Proposal Affect U.S. Citizen Children?
Potentially. Outside researchers estimate that some U.S.-citizen children in mixed-status households could lose access to certain refundable tax credits depending on the final eligibility rules.
Will The IRS Share Citizenship Information With ICE?
Treasury has said taxpayer information remains subject to federal privacy and disclosure protections. Questions about whether information could legally be shared in particular circumstances are likely to remain part of the debate surrounding the proposal.
When Would The New IRS Rule Take Effect?
The question currently appears on a draft 2026 tax form. Taxpayers should wait for the final IRS forms and official instructions before assuming the proposal will take effect exactly as currently written.
Bottom Line
The Trump administration’s proposed IRS reporting change could add citizenship and legal work authorization information to one of the most widely used federal government forms in America.
Administration officials say the move could strengthen eligibility checks, reduce improper tax-credit payments and potentially save taxpayer money.
Critics are focused on taxpayer privacy, tax compliance and the possibility that immigration information collected by the IRS could eventually be used beyond traditional tax administration.
Because the 2026 Form 1040 is still in draft form, important details could change before taxpayers begin filing.
For now, the proposal is an important development for anyone who follows federal taxes, immigration policy, refundable tax credits and government spending.
