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Tax Credits for Resident, Nonresident, and Dual-Status Filers: U.S. Taxes for Noncitizens (2025 IRS Guide)

This guide covers “Tax Credits for Resident, Nonresident, and Dual-Status Filers” within u.s. taxes for noncitizens. The following material presents the IRS treatment of this topic, including the qualifications, exceptions, and examples in the source section. Read the rules alongside the facts of your own situation before deciding what to report, deduct, or document.

Adapted from Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, published by the Internal Revenue Service. This guide retains the source edition’s years, amounts, deadlines, and examples. It is guidance for that edition, not a statement that the same figures apply to every tax year.

Tax Credits for Resident, Nonresident, and Dual-Status Filers

Resident taxpayers

Resident Aliens

Resident aliens generally claim tax credits and report tax payments, including withholding, using the same rules that apply to U.S. citizens.

The following items are some of the credits you may be able to claim.

Foreign tax credit.

You can claim a credit, subject to certain limits, for income tax you paid or accrued to a foreign country on foreign source income. You cannot claim a credit for taxes paid or accrued on excluded foreign earned income. To claim a credit for income taxes paid or accrued to a foreign country, you will generally file Form 1116 with your Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

For more information, see Pub. 514.

Child and dependent care credit.

You may be able to take this credit if you pay someone to care for your dependent qualifying child who is under age 13, or your disabled dependent or disabled spouse, so that you can work or look for work.

For more information, see Form 2441 and Pub. 503.

Credit for the elderly or the disabled.

You may qualify for this credit if you are age 65 or older or if you retired on permanent and total disability. For more information on this credit, see Pub. 524 and Schedule R (Form 1040).

Education credits.

You may qualify for these credits if you paid qualified education expenses for yourself, your spouse, or your dependent. There are two education credits, the American opportunity credit and the lifetime learning credit. You cannot claim these credits if you are married filing separately. Use Form 8863 to figure the credit. For more information, see Pub. 970.

Nonresident aliens, see Education credits under Nonresident Aliens, later.

Retirement savings contributions credit.

You may qualify for this credit (also known as the saver’s credit) if you made eligible contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan or to an IRA in 2025. Use Form 8880 and its instructions to figure the credit. For more information about the requirements to claim the credit, see Pub. 590-A.

Child tax credit (CTC) and the additional child tax credit (ACTC).

“Qualifying child,” for purposes of the CTC and the ACTC, is a child who:

Was under age 17 at the end of 2025;
Is your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild, niece, or nephew);
Is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or resident alien;
Did not provide over half of their own support for 2025;
Lived with you more than half of 2025 (temporary absences, such as for school, vacation, or medical care, count as time lived in the home);
Is claimed as a dependent on your return; and
Does not file a joint return for the year (or files it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid).

An adopted child is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with you for legal adoption.

To claim the CTC and the ACTC on either your original or amended 2025 return, you, or your spouse if filing jointly, must have a valid SSN. In addition, you may use your qualifying child to claim the CTC or ACTC only if the child has a valid SSN. For the CTC and ACTC, a valid SSN is one that is valid for employment and that is issued by the SSA before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions).

If you are filing a joint return, only one spouse is required to have a valid SSN to be eligible for the CTC or ACTC. The other spouse must have either an SSN or an ITIN, and it must have been issued on or before the due date of the return (including extensions).

If your qualifying child does not have a valid SSN, but has another type of TIN issued on or before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions), you may be able to claim the credit for other dependents for that child. See Credit for other dependents below.

Use Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) and its instructions to figure the credits.

Credit for other dependents.

The credit for other dependents is for people who have dependents who cannot be claimed for the CTC. The qualifying dependent must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien and must have an SSN, ITIN, or ATIN issued on or before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions). See Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) and its instructions for more information.

Adoption credit.

You may qualify to take a tax credit of up to $17,280 for qualifying expenses paid to adopt an eligible child. This amount may be allowed for the adoption of a child with special needs regardless of whether you have qualifying expenses. Beginning in 2025, up to $5,000 of your adoption credit may be refundable. The amount of the refundable portion is determined separately for each eligible child. To claim the adoption credit, file Form 8839 with your Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

Earned income credit (EIC).

The EIC, or earned income tax credit (EITC), is a benefit for working people with low to moderate income. To qualify for the EIC, you must have earned income from working for someone or from running or owning a business or farm and meet basic rules. Also, you must either meet additional rules for workers without a qualifying child or have a child who meets all the qualifying child rules. The EIC reduces the amount of tax you owe and may give you a refund. For more information, go to IRS.gov/EIC.

If you (and your spouse, if filing a joint return) did not have an SSN issued on or before the due date of the 2025 return (including extensions), you cannot claim the EIC on either your original or an amended 2025 return. Also, if a child did not have an SSN issued on or before the due date of your return (including extensions), you cannot count that child as a qualifying child in figuring the EIC on either your original or an amended 2025 return.

Caution:

If a social security card has a legend that says “Not Valid for Employment” and the number was issued so that you (or your spouse or your qualifying child) could receive a federally funded benefit, you cannot claim the EIC. An example of a federally funded benefit is Medicaid. If a card has this legend and the individual’s immigration status has changed so that the individual is now a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, ask the SSA to issue a new social security card without the legend.

To find out if you are eligible for the EIC, go to IRS.gov/EITCAssistant.

Other information.

There are other eligibility rules that are not discussed here. For more information, see Pub. 596.

Nonresident taxpayers

Credits

Credits are allowed only if you receive effectively connected income. You may be able to claim some of the following credits.

Foreign tax credit.

If you receive foreign source income that is effectively connected with a trade or business in the United States, you can claim a credit for any income taxes paid or accrued to any foreign country or U.S. territory on that income.

If you do not have foreign source income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business, you cannot claim credits against your U.S. tax for taxes paid or accrued to a foreign country or U.S. territory.

You cannot take any credit for taxes imposed by a foreign country or U.S. territory on your U.S. source income if those taxes were imposed only because you are a citizen or resident of the foreign country or territory.

If you claim a foreign tax credit, you will generally have to attach to your return a Form 1116. See Pub. 514 for more information.

Child and dependent care credit.

You may qualify for this credit if you pay someone to care for your dependent qualifying child who is under age 13, or your disabled dependent or disabled spouse, so that you can work or look for work. For definitions of these terms, see Pub. 503.

Married nonresident aliens can claim the credit only if they choose to file a joint return with a U.S. citizen or resident spouse, as discussed under How To Make the Choice in chapter 1, or if they qualify as certain married individuals living apart (see Joint Return Test in Pub. 503).

The amount of your child and dependent care expenses that qualifies for the credit in any tax year cannot be more than your earned income from the United States for that tax year. Earned income generally means wages, salaries, and professional fees for personal services performed.

For more information, see Pub. 503.

Education credits.

If you are a nonresident alien for any part of the year, you generally cannot claim the education credits. However, you may be able to claim an education credit under the following circumstances.

You are married and choose to file a joint return with a U.S. citizen or resident spouse, as discussed under Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident in chapter 1.
You are a dual-status alien, and choose to be treated as a U.S. resident for the entire year. See Choosing Resident Alien Status in chapter 1.

Additional information on the American opportunity tax credit is available at IRS.gov/AOTC.

Retirement savings contributions credit.

You may qualify for this credit (also known as the saver’s credit) if you made eligible contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan or to an IRA in 2025. Use Form 8880 to figure the credit. For more information, see Pub. 590-A.

Child tax credit (CTC) and the additional child tax credit (ACTC).

Only nonresident aliens who are U.S. nationals; residents of Canada, Mexico, or South Korea; or students and business apprentices from India who qualify for benefits under Article 21(2) of the income tax treaty with India can claim the CTC.

“Qualifying child,” for purposes of the CTC and the ACTC, is a child who:

Was under age 17 at the end of 2025;
Is your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild, niece, or nephew);
Is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or resident alien;
Did not provide over half of their own support for 2025;
Lived with you more than half of 2025 (temporary absences, such as for school, vacation, or medical care, count as time lived in the home);
Is claimed as a dependent on your return; and
Does not file a joint return for the year (or files it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid).

An adopted child is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with you for legal adoption.

Use Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) and its instructions to figure the credits.

Credit for other dependents.

Dependents who cannot be claimed for the CTC may still qualify you for the credit for other dependents. This is a nonrefundable tax credit of $500 per qualifying person. The qualifying dependent must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. See the Instructions for Form 1040-NR. To claim the credit for other dependents, your dependent must have an SSN, ITIN, or ATIN issued on or before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions).

Caution:

Adoption credit.

Married nonresident aliens can claim the credit only if they choose to file a joint return with a citizen or resident spouse, as discussed under Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident in chapter 1, or if they qualify as certain married individuals living apart (see Married Persons Not Filing Jointly in the Instructions for Form 8839).

Credit for prior-year alternative minimum tax.

If you paid alternative minimum tax in a prior year, use Form 8801 and its instructions to see if you qualify for this credit.

Earned income credit (EIC).

If you are a nonresident alien for any part of the tax year, you generally cannot claim the EIC. However, if you are married and choose to file a joint return with a U.S. citizen or resident spouse, as discussed under Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident in chapter 1, you may be eligible for the credit.

If you and your spouse did not have SSNs issued on or before the due date of the 2025 return (including extensions), you cannot claim the EIC on either your original or an amended 2025 return. Also, if a child did not have an SSN issued on or before the due date of your return (including extensions), you cannot count that child as a qualifying child in figuring the EIC on either your original or an amended 2025 return.

Caution:

See Pub. 596 for more information on the credit.

Dual-status tax years

Credits

As a dual-status alien, you can generally claim tax credits using the same rules that apply to resident aliens. There are certain restrictions that may apply. These restrictions are discussed here, along with a brief explanation of credits often claimed by individuals.

Caution:

You cannot claim the education credits, EIC, or credit for the elderly or the disabled unless you are married and you choose to be treated as a resident for all of 2025 by filing a joint return with your spouse who is a U.S. citizen or resident, as discussed in chapter 1.

Foreign tax credit.

If you have paid, or are liable for the payment of, income tax to a foreign country on income from foreign sources, you may be able to claim a credit for the foreign taxes.

If you claim the foreign tax credit, you must generally file Form 1116 with your income tax return. For more information, see the Instructions for Form 1116 and Pub. 514.

Child and dependent care credit.

Married dual-status aliens can claim the credit only if they choose to file a joint return, as discussed in chapter 1, or if they qualify as certain married individuals living apart.

The amount of your child and dependent care expenses that qualifies for the credit in any tax year cannot be more than your earned income for that tax year.

For more information, see Pub. 503 and Form 2441.

Retirement savings contributions credit.

You may qualify for this credit (also known as the saver’s credit) if you made eligible contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan or to an IRA in 2025. Use Form 8880 and its instructions to see if you qualify for this credit and to figure the credit. For more information, see Pub. 590-A.

Child tax credit (CTC) and the additional child tax credit (ACTC).

“Qualifying child,” for purposes of the CTC and the additional ACTC, is a child who:

Was under age 17 at the end of 2025;
Is your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild, niece, or nephew);
Is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or resident alien;
Did not provide over half of their own support for 2025;
Lived with you more than half of 2025 (temporary absences, such as for school, vacation, or medical care, count as time lived in the home);
Is claimed as a dependent on your return; and
Does not file a joint return for the year (or files it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid).

An adopted child is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with you for legal adoption.

Use Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) and its instructions to figure the credits.

Credit for other dependents.

Adoption credit.

Married dual-status aliens can claim the credit only if they choose the nonresident spouse treated as a resident status, as discussed in chapter 1, or if they qualify as certain married individuals living apart (see Married Persons Not Filing Jointly in the Instructions for Form 8839).

Using the guidance

Keep the documents that establish the dates, amounts, and circumstances described above. References to other chapters, forms, worksheets, or earlier and later sections refer to the linked IRS publication. Check the full publication and its updates before relying on a rule for a different tax year or a situation not addressed here.

Sources and further reading

Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens — Resident taxpayers — Internal Revenue Service; 2025 edition.
Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens — Nonresident taxpayers — Internal Revenue Service; 2025 edition.
Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens — Dual-status tax years — Internal Revenue Service; 2025 edition.

The cited U.S. government text is in the public domain. Source accessed October 28, 2026. Fynoptic has organized this material for educational use and is independent of, and not endorsed by, the IRS.

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