Internal Revenue Service United States Department of the Treasury
Level Basic Intermediate Advanced Military International

Unique Filing Status and Exemption Situations

Exemption for Nonresident Alien Spouse

Earned Income Credit

Taxpayers or spouses who were nonresident aliens for any part of the year cannot claim the earned income credit unless their filing status is Married Filing Jointly.

Tip

In this situation, enter NRA on the head of household line of Form 1040. The word No should appear on the dotted line next to the earned income credit line of Form 1040.

More Information

The taxpayer, spouse, and any qualifying children must have valid SSNs to claim the earned income credit; it cannot be claimed using an ITIN.

Form 1040, Payments section with "no" handwritten on the earned income credit line.