Trump Wants Taxpayers to Declare Their Citizenship to the IRS Under a New 1040 Proposal

Millions of Americans could see an unexpected question on their next tax return: Are you a US citizen, US national or legally authorised to work in the country? The question appears on the draft 2026 Form 1040 under a Trump administration proposal that would require taxpayers and spouses filing jointly to disclose their citizenship or work-authorisation status.

The proposed change is linked to restrictions on certain refundable tax credits. The rules are not final, and the IRS says draft forms should not be filed or relied upon as final instructions.

What the New Form Would Ask

The draft Form 1040 contains separate Yes or No boxes for the taxpayer and spouse. A related Schedule 3-A would also require certain taxpayers claiming refundable credits to provide information about their citizenship or immigration status.

Under the proposed regulations, taxpayers claiming an affected refundable credit that results in a federal public benefit would have to certify under penalty of perjury that they are a US citizen, US national or qualified alien. The change would not make citizenship a general requirement for filing a federal tax return. It would affect eligibility for the refunded portion of specified tax credits.

Why the Administration Wants the Change

The Treasury and the IRS say the proposal would apply the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to the refunded portion of four federal tax credits. They are the Adoption Tax Credit, American Opportunity Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Earned Income Tax Credit. Under the proposed rules, people who are not US citizens, US nationals or qualified aliens would generally be unable to receive the refunded portion of those credits.

The agencies say the measure would prevent people who are not eligible under federal law from receiving the affected benefits. Treasury and the IRS estimate that the policy could affect between 200,000 and 700,000 taxpayers for the 2026 tax year. The estimate is based on available data and does not account for possible changes in taxpayer behaviour or changes to the rules before they are finalised.

Who Could Be Affected

The proposed restrictions could affect some immigrants who are lawfully present in the US, depending on whether they meet the definition of a qualified alien under federal law. The agencies estimate that about 49 million federal individual tax returns will claim at least one of the four affected credits in tax year 2026. About 24 million are expected to involve a refundable portion treated as a federal public benefit.

The proposal therefore does not mean that every non-US citizen would lose access to these credits. Eligibility would depend on the taxpayer's circumstances and immigration category. For married couples filing jointly, the proposed regulations also contain specific rules where only one spouse meets the citizenship or qualified-alien requirement.

Immigrants Still Pay Federal Taxes

The proposed restrictions concern eligibility for specific refundable credits, not whether a person has to pay federal taxes. Some people who cannot obtain a Social Security number use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, for federal tax purposes when eligible.

Having an ITIN does not by itself establish that a taxpayer lacks lawful immigration status. The proposed rules also do not remove the general obligation to file a tax return where federal law requires one. The IRS already uses Social Security information to administer and verify certain tax-credit claims.

Privacy Questions Remain

The proposed certification would result in the IRS collecting additional information about taxpayers' citizenship or work-authorisation status. Treasury and the IRS say taxpayer information remains subject to federal privacy and disclosure protections. The proposed regulations state that the certification would be used in administering and enforcing the relevant tax provisions.

The proposal should not be presented as establishing that the new information will automatically be sent to immigration enforcement agencies. The administration has faced separate legal disputes over the use of taxpayer information for immigration enforcement. Those disputes do not by themselves establish how information collected through the proposed Form 1040 question would be used.

What Happens Next

The citizenship and work-authorisation questions remain part of draft 2026 tax forms, while the related credit restrictions are still proposed regulations. The IRS and Treasury have opened the rule-making process to public comment. Written comments on the proposed regulations are due by 5 October 2026, with a public hearing scheduled for 14 October.

The final rules and tax forms could therefore change before the 2026 tax year filing season. For now, the proposed Form 1040 represents a significant change in the information the IRS is considering collecting from taxpayers. Whether the citizenship and work-authorisation questions become part of the final filing process will depend on the outcome of the rule-making process.