Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Status Eligibility Confirmation and Updated Requirements for Earned Benefits Act of 2025” or the “SECURE Benefits Act of 2025”.
Status Eligibility Confirmation and Updated Requirements for Earned Benefits Act of 2025
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require taxpayers claiming the child and earned income tax credits, and their qualifying children, to have a valid social security number for employment purposes.
Sec. 2 Temporary work authorization
In general— Section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(I) Temporary Work-Authorized Social Security Number
“(i) In general—In the case of an individual who has been issued a temporary work authorization by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Commissioner shall—
“(I) assign a temporary work-authorized social security number to such individual; and
“(II) in a manner consistent with subparagraph (G), issue a social security card to such individual which, on the face of such card, indicates that the temporary work-authorized social security number is valid solely with respect to such employment, and for such period, as granted by the Department of Homeland Security pursuant to their temporary work authorization.
“(ii) Information sharing
“(I) Temporary Work-Authorizations—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall share with the Commissioner any information with respect to the status of any temporary work authorization which has been issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security for the purpose of administering this subparagraph, including—
“(aa) the expiration date for such temporary work authorization;
“(bb) any reauthorization of such temporary work authorization;
“(cc) whether such temporary work authorization is restricted to specific employers or employment circumstances; and
“(dd) any changes or adjustments with respect to such temporary work authorization which have been reported to the Secretary of Homeland Security.
“(II) Coordination with Internal Revenue Service—The Commissioner shall share with the Secretary (as defined in section 7701(a)(11)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) any information provided to the Commissioner pursuant to subclause (I), including any temporary work-authorized social security number which has been issued by the Commissioner pursuant to a temporary work authorization.
“(iii) Definitions—In this subparagraph:
“(I) Commissioner—The term Commissioner means the Commissioner of Social Security.
“(II) Temporary work authorization—The term temporary work authorization means work authorization granted to an alien within a class of aliens described in subsection (b) or (c) of section 274a.12 of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this subparagraph, the validity of which is dependent upon the maintenance of nonimmigrant or other temporary legal status.”
Conforming amendment— Section 205(c)(2)(B)(i)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(B)(i)(I)) is amended by inserting “subject to subparagraph (I),” before “to aliens at the time”.
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall take effect on January 1, 2027.
Sec. 3 Child tax credit identification requirements
by striking “or, in the case of a joint return, the social security number of at least 1 spouse” in subparagraph (A)(i) and inserting “the social security number of both spouses, in the case of a joint return”, and
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(C) Additional requirements for noncitizens with temporary work authorization
“(i) In general—In the case of an individual with a temporary work-authorized social security number pursuant to section 205(c)(2)(I) of the Social Security Act, such temporary work-authorized social security number shall be treated as a social security number for purposes of subparagraph (B) only if the Secretary confirms in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security that the individual has a valid temporary work authorization (as defined in section 205(c)(2)(I)(iii)(II) of such Act) as of the date of filing the return for the taxable year.
“(ii) Documentation—The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall prescribe the form and manner of documentation required to be provided for purposes of clause (i).”
Penalty—
In general— Part II of subchapter A of chapter 68 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 6663 the following new section:
“6663A. Imposition of penalty for invalid work authorization for purposes of child tax credit
“(a) Imposition of penalty—If any claim of credit under section 24 on a return is due to fraud relating to an expired or invalid temporary work authorization (as defined in section 205(c)(2)(I)(iii)(II) of the Social Security Act), there shall be added to the tax an amount equal to the greater of—
“(1) the amount of the credit so claimed, or
“(2) $5,000.
“(b) Reasonable cause exception—No penalty shall be imposed under subsection (a) if it is shown that there was a reasonable cause for the taxpayer's claim of credit and the taxpayer acted in good faith with respect to such credit.”
Clerical amendment— The table of sections for part II of subchapter A of chapter 68 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 6663 the following new item:
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.
Sec. 4 Earned income credit identification requirements
by striking “clause (II) (or that portion of clause (III) that relates to clause (II)) of section 205(c)(2)(B)(i) of the Social Security Act” and inserting “subclause (II) (or that portion of subclause (III) that relates to subclause (II)) of section 205(c)(2)(B)(i) of the Social Security Act, or any other social security number which does not indicate that the individual to whom the number is issued is authorized to work in the United States”,
by striking “numbers.—Solely” and inserting “numbers.—
“(1) In general—Solely”
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(2) Additional requirements for noncitizens with temporary work authorization
“(A) In general—In the case of an individual with a temporary work-authorized social security number pursuant to section 205(c)(2)(I) of the Social Security Act, such individual shall not be treated as an eligible individual or a qualifying child for purposes of this section unless the Secretary confirms in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security that the individual has a valid temporary work authorization (as defined in section 205(c)(2)(I)(iii)(II) of such Act) as of the date of filing the return for the taxable year.
“(B) Documentation—The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall prescribe the form and manner of documentation required to be provided for purposes of subparagraph (A).”
by striking “section 24” in subsection (a) and inserting “section 24 or 32”,
by striking “child tax” in the heading and inserting “child or earned income”, and
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(c) Penalties To be aggregated—In the case of penalties imposed under subsection (a) with respect to more than 1 credit described in such subsection, the amount added to the tax pursuant to this section shall be sum of all such penalties.”
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.
Sec. 5 Savers credit
In general— Section 25B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(g) Identification requirement
“(1) In general—No credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) with respect to an eligible individual unless the individual includes such individual's social security number on the return of tax for the taxable year.
“(2) Social security number defined—For purposes of this subsection, the term social security number has the meaning given such term in section 24(h)(7).”
Penalty— Section 6663A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added and amended by this Act, is further amended—
by striking “section 24 or 32” in subsection (a) and inserting “section 24, 25B, or 32”, and
by striking “child or earned income credit” in the heading and inserting “certain credits”.
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.
Sec. 6 Saver's match
In general— Subsection (c) of section 6433 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(4) Identification requirement
“(A) In general—An individual shall not be treated as an eligible individual unless the individual includes such individual's social security number on the return of tax for the taxable year.
“(B) Social security number defined—For purposes of this subsection, the term social security number has the meaning given such term in section 24(h)(7).”
Penalty— Section 6663A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added and amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting “, or of a matching contribution under section 6433,” after “32”.
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.
Sec. 7 Penalty for invalid work authorization for purposes of American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credits
In general— Section 6663A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added and amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting “, 25A” after “24”.
Effective date— The amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.
Sec. 8 Math error authority
Earned income credit— Subparagraph (F) of section 6213(g)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking “taxpayer identification number” and inserting “social security number”.
Child tax credit—
In general— Subparagraph (I) of section 6213(g)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking “TIN” and inserting “social security number”.
Age and credit determinations— Subparagraph (L) of section 6213(g)(2) of such Code is amended—
by striking “a TIN” and inserting “a TIN or social security number, as applicable,”, and
by striking “such TIN” both places it appears and inserting “such TIN or social security number”.
Savers credit— Section 6213(g) of such Code is amended by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (Z), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (AA) and inserting “, and”, and by inserting after subparagraph (AA) the following new subparagraph:
“(BB) an omission of a correct social security number required under section 25B(g) (relating to savers credit).”
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.