Tag Archive for Passport Revocation

National Taxpayer Advocate: Planning To Travel Outside The U.S. This Year? Don’t Risk A Passport Revocation

National Taxpayer Advocate

The Internal Revenue Service is urging taxpayers to resolve their significant tax debts, $50,000 or more, to avoid putting their passports in jeopardy. If you owe $50,000 or more and haven’t made payment arrangements, please contact the IRS now to avoid travel delays later.

Why is the State Department allowed to limit or revoke my passport due to unpaid taxes?

In December 2015, Congress passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. That act authorized the IRS to certify to the State Department taxpayers who owe a seriously delinquent tax debt. A seriously delinquent tax debt is an unpaid, legally enforceable federal tax debt totaling more than $50,000 (Please note that this amount is adjusted annually for inflation.) for which a notice of federal tax lien has been filed and all administrative remedies under IRC § 6320 have lapsed or been exhausted, or a levy has been issued. The IRS began certifying these debts to the State Department in 2018. Under the law, the State Department must deny your passport application and may revoke or limit your passport if the IRS has certified you as having a seriously delinquent tax debt. A seriously delinquent tax debt does not include non-tax debts collected by the IRS, such as the FBAR penalty and child support.

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Tax Debt And Passport Revocation: The New Weapon Against Americans Abroad

John-Richardson- Tax Debt and Passport Revocation

US Passport application links Citizenship (State Dept) to Taxation (Treasury) to enforce “Taxation based Citizenship

The logical progression continues …

I just got off the phone with someone who has just received a letter from the IRS stating that:

1. He had a “seriously delinquent” tax debt; and

2. That notice of the “seriously delinquent” tax debt was being forwarded to the State Department.

(In 2016 I did a presentation on this topic just a few months after the law came into force. You may view the presentation here.) Read More

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IRS Releases More Details On Passport Revocation Rule

Previously, we discussed a newly-enacted Code Section 7345 of the Internal Revenue Code, which authorizes the denial, revocation, or limiting of a delinquent taxpayer’s U.S. passport. We noted then that the statutory language contained in the new law offers few details about how exactly the penalty will be administered and to what extent exceptions would apply.

After more than a year-long delay, the IRS finally provided a number of important additional details relating to the passport revocation rule on its website. Read More

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