“Administrative burden and immigrant-inclusive policy: the case of state EITCs for ITIN filers”

In the United States, millions of immigrants working under various statuses file income tax returns with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). ITIN filers are usually ineligible for major federal tax credits that function as America’s largest anti-poverty policies. However, since 2020, ten states have expanded eligibility to ITIN filers to claim state Earned Income Tax Credits. The subnational expansion of these credits represents a meaningful and novel policy of integration and citizenship. However, the effectiveness of these policies in promoting integration depends not only on their formal adoption, but on their implementation. Drawing from a range of revenue agency data, public documents, tax forms, and two dozen interviews, this article presents the first examination of the early implementation and actual claim rates of these credits. Across expansion states, higher administrative burdens, such as complex or confusing paperwork, are associated with lower claiming of credits. The most divergent credit claim rates, in Maryland and Colorado, arose from the distinct political coalitions that secured policy adoption. In Colorado, however, a range of outreach and informational efforts drove dramatic increases in ITIN filer claiming of the state EITC.