Do unauthorized immigrants put themselves at risk when they file income taxes?

A lot of unauthorized immigrants want to file taxes using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), but many don’t do so because they’re afraid the IRS will report them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Do unauthorized (illegal/undocumented/whatever you want to call them) immigrants put themselves at risk for deportation when they file taxes?

In 2007, IRS spokeswoman Nancy Mathis told MSNBC that the IRS does not share “immigrants’ personal information with ICE or any other agency.” The IRS’s job is to collect taxes, not enforce immigration laws.

The IRS website implicitly confirms her statement. Take this response, for example, to a frequently asked question:

Isn’t it illegal for people to use the SSN of another person?

Yes, but the Internal Revenue Code does not distinguish between legal or illegal income. Regardless of how the income was earned, if it is taxable income, the person who received the income is required to file a federal tax return and report the income.

Or notice this statement from the IRS website. The emphasis is only on paying taxes. Only employers—not immigrants—are warned that they could get in trouble, but again, the IRS doesn’t mention that it will be the one to rat them out:

Foreign workers who are illegal aliens (undocumented aliens) are subject to U.S. taxes in spite of their illegal status. U.S. employers or payers who hire illegal aliens (undocumented aliens) may be subject to various fines, penalties, and sanctions imposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. If such employers or payers choose to hire illegal aliens (undocumented aliens), the payments made to those aliens are subject to the same tax withholding and reporting obligations that apply to other classes of aliens. Illegal aliens (undocumented aliens) who are nonresident aliens and who receive income from performing independent personal services are subject to 30 percent withholding unless exempt under some provision of law or a tax treaty. Illegal aliens (undocumented aliens) who are resident aliens and who receive income from performing dependent personal services are subject to the same reporting and withholding obligations which apply to U.S. citizens who receive the same kind of income.

About 3.5 million people filed taxes using ITINs in 2009 (that’s the most recent data I could find). Most people who use ITINs are believed to be unauthorized immigrants. There are an estimated 8 million unauthorized immigrants in the workforce. So by these very rough numbers, just over a third of unauthorized immigrants filed in 2009.

All unauthorized immigrants (even those who don’t file) pay some taxes. See my earlier piece on the subject to learn how.