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Title 26, Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-110

§6039E Information Concerning Resident Status

Title 26 › Subtitle F — Procedure and Administration › CHAPTER 61 — INFORMATION AND RETURNS › Subchapter A — Returns and Records › PART III — INFORMATION RETURNS › Subpart A — Information Concerning Persons Subject to Special Provisions › § 6039E

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

People who apply for a U.S. passport (or to renew one) or who apply to live in the United States as a lawful permanent resident must include a statement with their application that gives certain tax and residency facts. The statement must give the applicant’s taxpayer identification number (TIN), if they have one; passport applicants must say any foreign country where they are living; people seeking permanent residence must say whether they were required to file tax returns for their most recent 3 taxable years; and the Secretary may ask for other information as needed. If someone fails to give the required statement, they face a $500 penalty for each failure unless they can show it was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. Federal agencies that collect these statements must send them to the Secretary and must report the name and identifying details of anyone who refuses, except for information protected under section 245A of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Secretary may exempt a group of people by regulation if doing so is not needed to carry out these rules.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §6039E

Internal Revenue Code, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)General rule
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any individual who—
(1)applies for a United States passport (or a renewal thereof), or
(2)applies to be lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws,
shall include with any such application a statement which includes the information described in subsection (b).
(b)Information to be provided
Information required under subsection (a) shall include—
(1)the taxpayer’s TIN (if any),
(2)in the case of a passport applicant, any foreign country in which such individual is residing,
(3)in the case of an individual seeking permanent residence, information with respect to whether such individual is required to file a return of the tax imposed by chapter 1 for such individual’s most recent 3 taxable years, and
(4)such other information as the Secretary may prescribe.
(c)Penalty
Any individual failing to provide a statement required under subsection (a) shall be subject to a penalty equal to $500 for each such failure, unless it is shown that such failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect.
(d)Information to be provided to Secretary
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any agency of the United States which collects (or is required to collect) the statement under subsection (a) shall—
(1)provide any such statement to the Secretary, and
(2)provide to the Secretary the name (and any other identifying information) of any individual refusing to comply with the provisions of subsection (a).
Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be construed to require the disclosure of information which is subject to section 245A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this sentence).
(e)Exemption
The Secretary may by regulations exempt any class of individuals from the requirements of this section if he determines that applying this section to such individuals is not necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 245A of the Immigration and Nationality Act, referred to in subsec. (d), is classified to section 1255a of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. The date of the enactment of this sentence, referred to in subsec. (d), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 100–647, which was approved Nov. 10, 1988.

Amendments

1988—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100–647 inserted sentence at end relating to disclosure of information subject to section 245A of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1988 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 100–647 effective, except as otherwise provided, as if included in the provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99–514, to which such amendment relates, see section 1019(a) of Pub. L. 100–647, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.

Effective Date

Pub. L. 99–514, title XII, § 1234(a)(3), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2566, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by this subsection [enacting this section] shall apply to applications submitted after December 31, 1987 (or, if earlier, the

Effective Date

which shall not be earlier than January 1, 1987) of the initial

Regulations

issued under section 6039E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as added by this subsection).”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 6039E

Title 26, Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110