If you're reading this, something about your tax situation has you worried. That's fair \u2014 the IRS is intimidating until you know how the rules actually work. I'm Darrin Mish, a Tampa tax attorney. I've handled cases like yours for 32 years. Let me walk you through it.<\/p>\n
Until recently, U.S. tax debt did not affect your passport. You could owe the IRS a million dollars and travel internationally without restriction. That changed when Congress passed the FAST Act in late 2015 and the IRS began enforcement in 2018.<\/p>\n
Today, the IRS can certify a taxpayer’s debt to the State Department, and the State Department can deny passport applications, deny renewals, and in some cases revoke an existing passport. For expats and frequent international travelers, this is the most disruptive collection tool the IRS has.<\/p>\n
IRC Section 7345 authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to certify to the Secretary of State that a taxpayer has “seriously delinquent tax debt.” Once certified, the State Department applies the certification under 22 U.S.C. Section 2714a, which authorizes denial or revocation of passports for certified individuals.<\/p>\n
The statute defines “seriously delinquent tax debt” as an unpaid, legally enforceable federal tax liability of more than $62,000 (inflation-adjusted for 2026; the original 2015 threshold was $50,000) for which either a notice of federal tax lien has been filed and the period for administrative appeal has lapsed, or a levy has been issued.<\/p>\n
The threshold includes the assessed tax, penalties, and interest. Foreign tax credits, exclusions, and other return-based positions are not at issue here – this is enforcement of an assessed liability.<\/p>\n
The IRS certifies seriously delinquent tax debt when:<\/p>\n
The total assessed amount exceeds the inflation-adjusted threshold.<\/p>\n
A notice of federal tax lien has been filed and the Collection Due Process appeal rights have lapsed, or a levy has been issued.<\/p>\n
None of the statutory exclusions apply.<\/p>\n
The statutory exclusions include: debt being paid timely under an installment agreement<\/a>, debt that has been suspended due to a pending offer in compromise, debt that is the subject of an active Collection Due Process hearing or an active innocent spouse election under IRC Section 6015, debt that has been timely paid through a partial pay installment agreement, and debt held by a taxpayer with currently not collectible status due to hardship.<\/p>\n Each exclusion has documentation and timing requirements. An installment agreement that lapses, an offer in compromise<\/a> that gets returned, a CDP hearing that closes – any of these can put the taxpayer back in seriously delinquent status and re-trigger certification.<\/p>\n When the IRS certifies, the State Department is notified. The taxpayer receives Notice CP508C from the IRS confirming the certification.<\/p>\n For passport applications and renewals, certified individuals will have their applications denied. The State Department will not issue a new passport or renew an existing one while the certification is in place.<\/p>\n For existing passports, the State Department has authority to revoke. In practice, revocation has been rare and typically reserved for cases where the certified individual is outside the U.S. and the State Department wants to require return. More common is the denial of renewal when the existing passport expires.<\/p>\n For taxpayers physically outside the U.S. when certification occurs, the State Department typically issues a limited-validity passport sufficient only for direct return to the United States. This forces resolution of the tax debt or limits the taxpayer’s ability to remain abroad.<\/p>\n The IRS must reverse the certification (decertify) when:<\/p>\n The debt is fully satisfied.<\/p>\n The debt becomes legally unenforceable (statute of limitations expiration, bankruptcy discharge).<\/p>\n The taxpayer enters into an installment agreement and the agreement is being met.<\/p>\n An offer in compromise is accepted, or an offer in compromise has been deemed processable and is pending.<\/p>\n The taxpayer requests innocent spouse relief<\/a> and the request is pending.<\/p>\n The taxpayer requests a Collection Due Process hearing on a lien or levy notice underlying the certification.<\/p>\n Hardship-based currently not collectible status is granted.<\/p>\n Decertification is communicated to the State Department, which then can issue passports. The processing time between IRS decertification and State Department updating can be several weeks.<\/p>\n For U.S. citizens abroad, the passport is not optional. Loss of a passport for a U.S. citizen overseas creates immigration problems with the host country, banking access issues, and an inability to travel for work or family reasons.<\/p>\n The practical paths to decertification for expats:<\/p>\n Pay the debt. If the amount is manageable, paying down the balance below the threshold (currently $62,000 inflation-adjusted) ends the certification.<\/p>\n Installment agreement. A streamlined installment agreement or a partial pay installment agreement triggers decertification once executed and being honored. For expats, the agreement can be set up by mail or through a tax attorney representing the taxpayer.<\/p>\n Offer in compromise. Once an OIC is deemed processable, decertification is required. The OIC itself may take months to resolve, but the passport eligibility is restored during the pendency.<\/p>\nWhat Certification Means in Practice<\/h2>\n
Decertification: How to Get the Passport Back<\/h2>\n
The Practical Path for Expats<\/h2>\n