S. 2974 — SECURE Benefits Act of 2025

This section establishes requirements for the Commissioner of Social Security to issue temporary work-authorized Social Security numbers and cards to aliens granted temporary work authorization by DHS—specifically, those within classes described in 8 C.F.R. § 274a.12(b) or (c)—effective January 1, 2027. The card must indicate the number is valid solely for the authorized employment and period; DHS must share authorization details (e.g., expiration date, restrictions, changes) with SSA; and SSA must share that information, including the temporary number, with the IRS. (Thus, these SSNs support employment verification and tax administration while limiting use to the DHS-authorized scope.) It makes a conforming amendment to clarify that general SSN issuance rules for aliens are subject to these new requirements.

This section revises social security number (SSN) requirements for claiming the child tax credit for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, by (1) requiring the SSN of both spouses on a joint return (previously, the SSN of at least one spouse), and (2) treating a temporary work-authorized SSN as valid only if the Secretary of the Treasury confirms, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, that the individual has valid temporary work authorization as of the filing date (with documentation requirements to be prescribed). The section also establishes a new penalty equal to the greater of the improper credit amount or $5,000 for fraudulent child tax credit claims due to an expired or invalid temporary work authorization, with an exception for reasonable cause and good faith.

This section revises identification requirements under the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, by (1) expanding ineligibility to any individual with a Social Security number not indicating U.S. work authorization and (2) requiring the Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to verify valid temporary work authorization (and prescribe documentation) for individuals with such temporary work-authorized numbers before treating them or their qualifying children as eligible. The section also extends the accuracy-related penalty of new IRC section 6663A to improper EITC claims (in addition to child tax credit claims), updates the penalty heading accordingly, and requires aggregation of penalties when both credits are improperly claimed.

This section requires an individual's social security number on the tax return to claim the savers credit (i.e., retirement savings contributions credit) for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026. It also expands the penalty under new IRC §6663A(i.e., for improper claims of the child tax credit or earned income tax credit) to cover improper savers credit claims and revises the penalty heading to "certain credits."

This section requires an individual to include a social security number on the tax return to qualify as an eligible individual for the Saver's match under IRC §6433 and subjects such matching contributions to penalties under IRC §6663A. The amendments apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.

This section expands the penalty under new IRC §6663A for claiming specified tax credits without valid work authorization to include the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credits (IRC §25A, i.e., refundable credits of up to $2,500 per student for qualified tuition, fees, and course materials), effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026. (Previously, the penalty applied only to the child tax credit under IRC §24.)

This section revises IRS math error authority under section 6213(g)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code (i.e., authority to summarily correct certain mathematical, clerical, or identification errors on tax returns without formal deficiency procedures) for three credits as follows: (1) earned income tax credit, by striking "taxpayer identification number" and inserting "social security number"; (2) child tax credit, by (A) striking "TIN" and inserting "social security number," and (B) in age and credit determinations, striking "a TIN" and "such TIN" and inserting "a TIN or social security number, as applicable," and "such TIN or social security number," respectively; and (3) saver's credit (i.e., retirement savings contributions credit under IRC §25B), by adding authority over omissions of a correct social security number required under §25B(g). The amendments apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.