Information for Immigrants Filing 2025 Tax Returns

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Disclaimer: This resource provides general information. It is not legal advice specific to your situation. For questions about your own case, speak to an immigration lawyer and a tax expert.

Information for Immigrants Filing 2025 Tax Returns

Do immigrants have to pay federal taxes?
Maybe. It depends on:

• how much income you have, and
• your tax residency.
  Learn more about who has to file at the IRS website.

Do I need to file a tax return if my income is low? No, unless your income is over the filing minimum, or you owe self-employment taxes. But filing tax returns may help if you plan to apply for a green card or citizenship. You could also be eligible for a refund.

Does the IRS share taxpayer’s information with ICE? Tax information is not supposed to be shared. But in 2025, the IRS gave ICE information about 47,000 immigrant taxpayers who had deportation orders.

What information did IRS give ICE? ICE got the addresses of some immigrant taxpayers they may want to deport.

Can ICE get more taxpayer information from the IRS? Not at this time. The courts told the IRS that starting March 2026, they must not give ICE any more taxpayer information. But this may change.

If ICE has my address, should I file taxes? If ICE already has your address, filing does not add to your risk. ICE has many other ways to find your address, such as looking at information from immigration cases. If you know the government does not have your address and are worried about filing your taxes, talk to an immigration lawyer. If you don’t file your taxes now but are supposed to, you may later have to pay more money or face legal problems later.

Have taxes changed for immigrants? Starting in 2025, many immigrant families can no longer get the Child Tax Credit. For more, see this fact sheet.

Can I get help filing my tax return? Many immigrants qualify for free help with their tax returns through VITA sites. You can also get free tax software at the IRS website.

Examples of Immigrant Taxpayer Families

These fictional stories show how some immigrant families might think about filing their tax returns this year.

Single Lawfully Present Immigrant
Marisol has a green card. She has a full-time job and made $42,000 last year. Because she is a single adult under 65, and her income is more than $15,750, she must file a federal tax return.
Filing can also help her future citizenship application because it shows she has lived and worked in the U.S. and follows federal law. As a lawful permanent resident, she is unlikely to be at risk for future data sharing between IRS and ICE.

Undocumented Immigrant Married to Citizen, With Kids
Miguel is undocumented and married to Rosa, a U.S. citizen. He has an ITIN. They have 2 young children together. In 2025, they earned a total of $29,000 as employees. They do not have to file their taxes because they earned less than the filing minimum for “married filing jointly” status ($31,500).

But if they file, they will qualify for the Child Tax Credit because Rosa has a Social Security Number and they may get a tax refund. They are worried about immigration enforcement, but ICE already has their address from Miguel’s active immigration case. They decide to file taxes so they can get the refund.

Married Green Card Holder and Undocumented Immigrant
Tae and Daniel are married. Tae is undocumented. Daniel has a green card and plans to sponsor Tae for his own green card. Together, they earned $79,000 last year (above the minimum for filing). They will file “married filing jointly.” Their filing also shows “good moral character” and “physical presence” in the U.S., which will help with Pat’s green card application.

Low Income Undocumented Mother and Child

Amara earned $14,000 last year working for a house-cleaning company. Both she and her young son are undocumented, and she is not planning to apply for a green card. She has never had contact with immigration officers and thinks the government does not have her address.

Because she is not self-employed and is low income, she doesn’t have to file her taxes. After talking with an immigration lawyer, she decides not to file taxes this year.