Tax credits for low-income families now tied to immigration status

What it does

This bill requires taxpayers claiming the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit to provide valid Social Security numbers for themselves, their spouses (if filing jointly), and their qualifying children—and specifies that only SSNs issued to U.S. citizens or work-authorized immigrants count. It bars credits to anyone using an SSN that does not indicate work authorization. The bill takes effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is not fraud prevention per se, but rather a gatekeeping rule that ties eligibility for refundable tax credits to immigration status and work authorization. The stated purpose (anti-fraud) masks a substantive policy shift that excludes mixed-status families and certain immigrant groups from credits they may currently claim.

What the text implies

• Mixed-status families (e.g., U.S. citizen children with non-work-authorized parents) will lose access to the Child Tax Credit, potentially increasing child poverty in immigrant households regardless of the child's citizenship.
• The bill narrows the definition of valid SSN to exclude numbers issued to non-work-authorized individuals, even if those individuals are otherwise eligible to claim dependents under current law—a substantive eligibility change not explicitly framed as such.

The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.

Who it affects

The bill restricts access to two major tax credits—the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit—by narrowing who qualifies based on immigration status and work authorization. While framed as an anti-fraud measure, it will deny credits to mixed-status families (where one spouse or a child lacks work authorization) and to immigrants with valid SSNs who are not yet citizens or work-authorized, reducing take-home income for low- and moderate-income households and potentially increasing child po