- The IRS draft Form 1040 adds a new yes-or-no citizenship question for tax year two thousand twenty-six.
- The prompt also covers U.S. nationals and noncitizens lawfully authorized to work, with spouses answering separately on joint returns.
- The question remains provisional, while a separate credit proposal would require a sworn eligibility declaration for refundable credits.
The IRS has added a new yes-or-no citizenship question to a draft 2026 Form 1040 now circulating for tax year 2026. The item appears near the top of the return, in the “Other Information” section, but the agency has not issued a final version.
The draft asks whether the filer has one of three statuses: U.S. citizen, U.S. national or an alien lawfully authorized to work in the United States. It appears below the digital assets question.
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The proposed wording says:
“At the time of filing, are you—and your spouse, if filing jointly—a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or alien lawfully authorized to work in the United States?”
The question would not be limited to citizenship. A noncitizen with legal work authorization could answer “yes.” Joint filers would respond separately for each spouse.
The draft covers tax year 2026, with returns filed in 2027 if the language survives review and approval. It remains provisional.
The return language remains subject to change
The tax agency has not finalized the draft. An agency notice published on September 9, 2026, for tax year 2026 Form 1040-series testing says draft scenarios are “subject to change.” That testing language reinforces the provisional status of the proposed item, though it does not establish whether the question will appear on the final return.
The item sits with general filing questions rather than on a separate immigration form. Its wording combines citizenship, nationality and employment authorization in one eligibility prompt.
That design would give the same question different consequences for different filers. A U.S. citizen could answer affirmatively. So could a U.S. national or a noncitizen lawfully authorized to work in the country. The draft does not present those categories as separate questions.
A separate Treasury and agency proposal points in a similar direction, but it is not the same measure.
A separate credit proposal would require a sworn eligibility declaration
The Federal Register published proposed regulations on August 20, 2026, covering declarations for taxpayers seeking certain refundable credits. The proposal would require a statement under penalty of perjury that the claimant is a “U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or qualified alien.”
The proposal would apply to the refunded portion of credits under Internal Revenue Code sections 23, 24, 25A, and 32. Comments were due October 5, 2026.
The two developments use overlapping status categories, but they operate differently. The draft return contains a yes-or-no question for the filer and, where applicable, the spouse. The Federal Register proposal concerns a sworn declaration tied to claims for specified refundable credits.
The credit proposal also uses “qualified alien,” while the draft return refers to an “alien lawfully authorized to work in the United States.” Those phrases appear in separate documents and should not be treated as interchangeable definitions.
Concerns about referrals are not an agency policy statement
Spanish-language coverage published on September 18, 2026 characterized the draft as “un paso más del Gobierno del presidente Donald Trump para avanzar en su agenda migratoria,” or another step by President Donald Trump’s government in advancing its immigration agenda.
A separate report raised a concern about possible referrals if the question becomes final. It said a filer identified as lacking legal status “podría ser turnada a las autoridades migratorias.” That was presented as a concern in coverage, not as a policy statement from the tax agency.
The draft itself establishes the requested status categories and the response format. It does not, in the material released so far, announce a referral procedure or describe an immigration-enforcement process connected to an answer.
The final return will determine whether the proposed item becomes part of the filing process. Until approval, the September 2026 language remains informational and may change before taxpayers file 2026 income tax returns in 2027.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. Consult a qualified tax professional or CPA about your specific situation.
