If you have a “seriously delinquent tax debt,” the IRS is now authorized to notify the State Department of such outstanding debt. In turn, the State Department may deny your request for a passport or revoke your current passport. If you are overseas when your passport application is denied or your passport is revoked, the State Department may issue you a limited validity passport good only for direct return to the United States.

Your debt to the government must be more than $50,000 to be considered seriously delinquent debt. Even if your debt is in excess of $50,000, if you have an arrangement with the IRS to repay the debt, your passport status should not be impacted. This just reinforces the fact that if you owe the government back taxes, don’t ignore the situation. Installment payments arrangements can be set up with the IRS. Depending on the amount owed, you may be able to set up monthly payments through the IRS website or with a quick phone call.

The IRS website provides additional information on the revocation or denial of passports for unpaid taxes.

You can find more information about setting up an installment payment arrangement with the IRS here.

If you have any questions about how this my impact you, feel free to contact us.