EITC Social Security number rules for you, your spouse and your child

What counts as a valid SSN

Rule 2 says you and your spouse, if filing jointly, must have a valid SSN issued by the Social Security Administration by the due date of your return, including extensions. A number is valid for the credit unless it was issued after that due date, or it was issued solely to apply for or receive a federally funded benefit, such as Medicaid, and does not authorize you to work. If you were a U.S. citizen when you received your SSN, you have a valid one. If the card reads "Valid for work only with INS authorization" or "DHS authorization," the number is valid, but only while that authorization remains valid. A card marked "Not valid for employment" is a problem; if your immigration status has since changed so you are a citizen or permanent resident, ask the SSA for a card without that legend.

ITINs and ATINs do not work

The publication is explicit: if you or your spouse has an ITIN, an individual taxpayer identification number the IRS issues to noncitizens who cannot get an SSN, you cannot claim the credit. For children, a qualifying child with an ITIN or an adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN), which is issued to adopting parents who cannot yet get an SSN for the child, cannot support a higher credit. Related: if an SSN for you or your spouse is missing from your return or is incorrect, you may not get the credit.

What you can do about timing

If you had no valid SSN on or before the return due date, you check the box on line 27c and cannot claim the credit on either your original or an amended return. If you or your spouse later gets a valid SSN, the publication says you cannot file an amended return to claim the credit for that year. The exception is a narrow one: if you were issued an SSN that was not valid for the credit but by the due date you became eligible for a card without "Not valid for employment," you may claim on an original or amended return even if the card was not updated by then. If the filing deadline is approaching and you still have no SSN, you can request an automatic 6-month extension with Form 4868 or by making an electronic payment by the due date, and apply for an SSN on Form SS-5. Our SSN format validator checks only how a number is formatted, not whether the SSA issued it.

Children and the self-only credit

Your qualifying child needs a valid SSN issued on or before the due date of your return, including extensions, for you to claim a higher credit based on that child. The exception is a child who was born and died in the same year; attach a copy of the birth certificate, death certificate or hospital records showing a live birth. If you have more than one qualifying child and only one has a valid SSN, you can use only that child. Importantly, you must still complete and attach Schedule EIC for every child who meets the qualifying child tests, even one without a valid SSN. If that child has no valid SSN, you may still be eligible for a self-only credit, which is the credit for a person with no qualifying child.

A worked example

A married couple files jointly. Both spouses have valid SSNs. They have two children who meet all four qualifying child tests; one has an SSN and one has an ITIN. They can claim the credit based on one child, not two, because only one child has a valid SSN. If instead the wife had only an ITIN, the couple could not claim the credit at all, since a joint return needs both spouses to have valid SSNs. If a single filer with a valid SSN has a child with an ITIN only, the filer would claim a self-only credit, and only if age 25 to 64 and the other no-child tests are met; see our no-child page.

Link to the ban and notices

A missing or incorrect SSN is a math or clerical error under chapter 5, so the IRS can deny the credit without the Form 8862 requirement attaching to the next year. See the Form 8862 and ban page. The checker above handles only the SSN question; the amount still depends on the other rules and the EIC table.

Sources

• IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC) (2025): Rule 2, You Must Have a Valid Social Security Number (SSN) (U.S. citizen, Valid for work only..., SSN missing or incorrect, Other taxpayer identification number, No SSN, Getting an SSN, Filing deadline approaching and still no SSN); Rule 8 (Social security number); chapter 4, Schedule EIC; chapter 5, Exception for math or clerical errors. Read November 2, 2026.

Edition read: Publication 596 (2025), Earned Income Credit (EIC), for use in preparing 2025 returns. Dollar amounts and dates on this page are the 2025 figures printed in that edition; they change by tax year, so check the current publication and form instructions for the year you file. This page summarizes the publication and does not replace it.