Can ITIN holders claim the EITC and what are the limitations?
Executive summary
Federal law bars taxpayers who file with an ITIN from claiming the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); the IRS requires Social Security numbers valid for employment for the taxpayer, spouse and any qualifying children to get the federal EITC [1] [2]. Several states and local programs have created parallel credits that allow ITIN filers to receive state-level EITC-like benefits (examples include California, Illinois, Washington, and others cited by state or advocacy sources) [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. Federal rule: ITINs disqualify you for the federal EITC
The Internal Revenue Service’s eligibility rules require that the claimant, a spouse if filing jointly, and each qualifying child have Social Security numbers that are valid for employment issued on or before the return’s due date; the IRS and its preparer guidance state explicitly that if either the taxpayer or spouse has an ITIN they cannot claim the federal EITC [1] [2]. Multiple tax guidance and nonprofit outreach pages summarize the same bright-line requirement: you cannot claim the federal EITC if you file using an ITIN instead of an SSN [6] [7].
2. Why the SSN requirement matters — and how the IRS frames it
The SSN-for-EITC rule is tied to Congress’s design of refundable credits and the IRS’s verification procedures: the EITC requires SSNs “valid for employment,” not ITINs, because the credit’s refundable nature and interaction with other federal programs make the employment-authorized SSN the statutory identifier the IRS enforces (IRS guidance and preparer toolkits restate the SSN validity requirement) [1] [2]. Available sources do not mention a federal exception that allows an ITIN-holder to claim the federal EITC.
3. State and local workarounds: some credits accept ITIN filers
Several states and localities have enacted their own EITC-style credits that extend eligibility to taxpayers who file with ITINs. Policy and tax reporting note that 10 states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico have extended state or local earned-income credits to some immigrant taxpayers filing with ITINs, and Illinois’s tax authority explicitly allows an Illinois EITC for taxpayers filing with an ITIN [3] [4]. Washington’s Working Families Tax Credit likewise permits claimants with an ITIN for state credit purposes, explicitly aligning its rules to include people who “would meet the requirements for EITC but are filing with an ITIN” [5]. These state credits are separate from the federal EITC and paid by state treasuries, not the IRS [3] [4].
4. Practical limitations and consequences for households
The most direct limitation: an ITIN blocks access to the federal credit that in 2025 can be worth thousands for families with children (inflation-adjusted maximums are cited in sources) — leaving eligible ITIN filers dependent on state programs where available [8] [3]. Preparers’ guidance warns that if a spouse has an ITIN, filing options may be constrained (e.g., inability to file married filing jointly in typical circumstances), which itself can disqualify a household under federal EITC filing-status rules [7]. Available sources do not mention any federal administrative pathway that converts an ITIN filer into an EITC claimant without obtaining an SSN.
5. How people can pursue the federal credit: SSN acquisition and retroactive claims
To become eligible for the federal EITC, a taxpayer or spouse must have and use a Social Security number valid for employment; sources suggest there is no federal shortcut that allows an ITIN to substitute for that SSN requirement [1] [2]. Taxpayers who later obtain SSNs may be able to amend past returns or claim credits for prior years where rules permit — organizations note that some credits can be claimed retroactively by filing amended returns within statutory windows, but the sources do not set out step-by-step amnesty procedures tied to SSN issuance [9] [10]. Available sources do not mention a universal federal timeline for converting ITIN-based filings into federally EITC-eligible filings other than normal amendment procedures.
6. Competing perspectives and the political context
Advocates emphasize that state EITC expansions are a corrective policy to include immigrant workers who pay taxes but lack SSNs; tax-policy coverage lists states that have extended eligibility to ITIN filers as evidence of patchwork solutions [3] [4]. The IRS’s and Treasury’s position is statutory compliance: the agency enforces SSN-valid-for-employment rules for federal refundable credits because those identifiers are written into federal law and guidance [1] [2]. That tension — federal exclusion vs. state inclusion — is a recurring theme in reporting and state-level policy updates [3] [4].
7. What a taxpayer with an ITIN should do next
Check whether your state or locality offers an EITC-like credit that accepts ITIN filers (sources list states including California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and D.C. as examples of expanded state programs) and claim those benefits where eligible [3] [6] [4]. For the federal EITC, pursue an SSN if eligible for one, and consult IRS guidance and the preparer toolkit about documentation and amendment options; the IRS pages and preparer FAQ are the controlling federal references [1] [2].
Limitations: this summary uses only the supplied sources and therefore does not cover any legislative or administrative changes after those reports; sources cited above should be consulted directly for forms, exact credit amounts and step-by-step filing instructions [2] [1] [4].