First, do you owe the IRS money?

If so, is the balance greater than $55,000?

If the answer to both questions is yes, then you may have a passport problem.

The State Department can deny or revoke U.S. passports of people with tax debts
of $55,000 or more on whom a tax lien or levy has been filed.

This does not include folks who are paying their taxes under an installment agreement, people in bankruptcy, individuals who live in a federally declared disaster area, or people with a tax debt that IRS has determined isn’t collectible because of hardship.

The IRS gives names of affected taxpayers to the State Department. It also lets people know that their names were submitted to State. Folks who get notice CP508C should contact IRS to resolve their debts.

Revoking a tax delinquent’s passport does not violate the U.S. Constitution, according to  an appeals court. After the State Dept. revoked the passport of a man who owed back taxes, he claimed this violated his right to international travel under the Fifth Amendment.

The court stated that IRS has an important interest in collecting seriously delinquent tax debts, and this interest is clearly connected to the government’s ability to revoke or deny passports to taxpayers with such debts. This is the second appeals court to uphold this program.

Franklin, 5th Cir.

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