By Juan Carlos Chavez
Tampa Bay Times
(TNS)
For the first time, the Internal Revenue Service is proposing to ask taxpayers about their citizenship or legal authorization to work when they fill out income tax returns next year.
Advocates for immigrants fear the answers could be used to deport workers or their spouses who are in the country without authorization.
The question asks taxpayers and their spouses, if filing jointly, whether they are a “U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or an alien lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.”
A separate proposal could affect eligibility for tax credits, such as those for children or earned income. In the section related to those credits, taxpayers would beasked whether they or their spouse is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or a “qualified alien” under federal benefits law.
The draft form is subject to approval by the Office of Management and Budget.
The U.S. system generally keeps tax information confidential and has allowed people to pay taxes without disclosing their immigration status. Paying taxes is an obligation for everyone who earns income in the U.S., regardless of whether they have awork permit or not. People ineligible for a Social Security number are able to get federal taxpayer numbers instead.
The IRS didn’t immediatelyrespond to questions about the proposed change and its impact as the Trump administration intensifies its efforts to curb immigration. The Office of Management and Budget also did not respond to an inquiry about whether it had approved the draft.
The proposed changecomes in the wake of the administration’s termination of protections, such as Temporary Protected Status, for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from different countries.
Last year, advocates criticized the IRS for sharing some taxpayer data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under an agreement that was to be used “strictly for major criminal cases,” The Associated Press reported. Two weeks ago, a federal appeals court ruled against the agency sharing taxpayer information with ICE.
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This year, advocacy groups are pushing back again. They said the question about citizenship and work permits could affect hundreds of thousands of taxpayers and mixed-status families, especially those who use taxpayer identification numbers.
“People are living in constant fear, and every time something is proposed that suggests a person or family could be investigated, that fear grows,” said Ana Lamb, a longtime civil rights advocate who helps low-income families in the Tampa Bay area.
Since the taxpayer identification number program began in 1996, about 31 million numbers had been issued, according to a 2026 federal audit. There are about 5 million active users. In 2025, the IRS issued more than 470,000 new numbers.
Lamb said immigrants have been told for years to file their taxes because the process is safe and separate from immigration agencies. Paying taxes does not give someone legal immigration status, but a person’s tax history can be considered as a positive factor.
Now, according to Lamb, that trust could be shaken.
“All of this will create even more chaos than already exists,” she said.
Immigrants pay income and payroll taxes through automatic withholding from their paychecks or by filing income tax returns using identification numbers. A report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Florida collected $1.8 billion in state and local taxes from about 747,000 immigrants without legal status in 2022, the most recent year for which the institute calculated the data.
Vicky Obando, a coordinator at United for the Community in Pinellas, a nonprofit that works to improve the lives of both U.S.-born and immigrant families, said asking questions about legal status “could discourage” many from filing their taxes.
“A person’s immigration status is something that, these days, many people do not want to discuss,” she said.
Ira Mehlman, spokesperson for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group based in Washington, D.C. that advocates for reduced immigration, saidthere is no reason not to add the question.
“It is perfectly legitimate for the IRS to ask about a filer’s immigration status because it is relevant to the individual’s taxation status and right to work in the U.S.,” he said.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
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©2026 Tampa Bay Times. Visit tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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Tags: immigrants, Income Taxes, IRS, tax returns, Taxes, Trump administration
