S. 268 — Saving American Workers’ Benefits Act of 2025

This section revises the identification requirements for the child tax credit (CTC) to disallow the credit for any qualifying child unless the taxpayer includes a social security number (SSN)—issued by the Social Security Administration to a U.S. citizen or certain non-citizens, indicating work authorization in the United States, and issued before the tax return due date—for both the child and the taxpayer (and spouse on a joint return), effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025. (Thus, the CTC, which provides up to $2,000 per qualifying child ($1,700 refundable), is limited to families where both parents and children have work-authorized SSNs.) The section also (1) updates math error authority under IRC §6213(g)(2) to reference SSNs in addition to taxpayer identification numbers; and (2) strikes an obsolete provision in the CTC special rules.

This section expands Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) identification requirements by denying the credit not only for certain invalid Social Security numbers (SSNs) specified in the Social Security Act but also for any other SSN that does not indicate the individual is authorized to work in the United States, effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025. (The EITC provides refundable tax credits to low- and moderate-income workers, particularly those with qualifying children.)