Draft 2026 Form 1040: the new question on citizenship and work authorization
In September 2026, the IRS released the draft Form 1040 that will be used to report 2026, in the 2027 filing season. For the first time, the individual return asks about the filer's citizenship and work authorization.
Form 1040 (2026), draft. "Other Information" section
At the time you file your return, are you, and your spouse if filing jointly, a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or an alien lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.?
What it asks
In a new section on page one, the form asks whether, at the time of filing, you and your spouse, if filing jointly, are U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals or aliens lawfully authorized to work in the United States. Each spouse checks Yes or No separately.
Schedule 3-A
The draft also adds a new schedule, 3-A, titled "Federal Public Benefit." It comes from rules Treasury and the IRS proposed in August 2026, which treat as a public benefit, under the 1996 federal welfare law, the refunded portion of four credits: the earned income credit, the additional child tax credit, the refundable American Opportunity credit and the refundable adoption credit.
That schedule uses a stricter test than the page-one question. To receive the refunded portion you must be a citizen, a national or a "qualified alien," a defined legal category. A work permit alone does not make someone a qualified alien. Someone who does not meet the test can use those credits to reduce their tax to zero, but would not receive the excess as a refund. On a joint return, if one spouse is a citizen, the draft treats both as qualified.
What does not change
None of this is final. The form is a draft and the Schedule 3-A rules are proposed, with a public hearing set for October 14, 2026; they would apply once published as final rules. The obligation to file does not depend on immigration status, and having an ITIN does not prove any particular immigration status. Return information remains protected by tax confidentiality law, and in September 2026 a federal appeals court kept in place a block on a data-sharing agreement between the IRS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The debate
Supporters present the change as applying federal public benefit law to credits that generate refunds. Opponents, including eleven senators who asked the IRS to drop the question, argue that the IRS already verifies work authorization with Social Security data and that the question will discourage many people from filing.
What to do
Keep filing: not filing creates penalties and closes doors. Always answer truthfully, because the return is signed under penalty of perjury. If your family depends on a refund from these credits, review your case before the 2027 season. And follow the news: the final version may change.