Can the IRS take away your passport for unpaid taxes?

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Editor's note: Darrin T. Mish was admitted to The Florida Bar in October 1993 and founded his firm in 1996. Any length of practice mentioned in this video reflects when it was recorded (published September 17, 2026).

you owe the IRS for that. What you might not know is it can cost you your passport. Not a fine, not a lien, your actual ability to leave the country or to come back into it. And for a lot of people, they find that that out at the airport or when a renewal gets denied a week before a trip. Here's how this works. There's a law that requires the IRS to report certain taxpayers to the state.

The IRS itself doesn't take your passport. They certify you. And once you're certified, the State Department will deny a new passport, refuse to renew the one you have, and it can revoke the one in your pocket. If you're already overseas when it happens, they may issue you a limited passport that's good for one thing only, getting straight back to the United States. Who does this apply to?

There's a specific definition and it has two parts. Part one is the amount. Your total unpaid federal tax debt, including penalties and interest, has to be above the threshold. In 2026, that number is more than $66,000. It adjusts every year for inflation, so it keeps climbing. Part two is the collection step. It's not enough to just owe the money, the IRS has to have already filed a tax lien and your appeal rights on it have run out or they've already issued a levy.

If neither of those has happened, you're not there yet, no matter how much you owe. But when both parts line up, the IRS sends you a notice. It's called a CP508C. And I want you to understand something about that letter. It doesn't go to your tax professional, even if you have one on file. It goes to you and your last known address. If you've moved or you've been throwing the IRS mail in the drawer, this is the one that you didn't see.

Now, here's the good news because this one has a real exit. The law lists situations that block the certification entirely or reverse it if it's already happened. If you're in an installment agreement and you're paying it, if you have an offer in compromise pending, if you're in currently not collectible status, if you have a collection due process hearing pending, if you've requested innocent spouse relief, or if you're in bankruptcy.

Any one of those and you're not seriously delinquent in the eyes of the law. And once you get into one of them, the IRS is required to reverse the certification within 30 days. This is fixable, and it's fixable relatively fast. The people it hits hardest are the ones I work with all the time, expats. People with family abroad. Business owners with deals overseas. Dual residents. If your life crosses a border, a tax debt isn't just a financial problem.

It's a freedom problem. After 32 years, I'll tell you the mistake here is always the same. Somebody ignores a growing tax debt because if nothing bad has happened yet, and then one thing that happens is the thing you can't work around. You can live with a lien for years. You can't fly to see your mother without a passport. If you owe a serious amount and you travel, or if you ever might, don't wait for the airport to tell you.

Let's talk. We'll find out whether you're at risk and get you into an arrangement that keeps your passport in your hands. And if you've already got that notice, call today, not next week. The reversal is fast, but only once the right thing is in place. Thanks for watching.

Yes. If you owe the IRS enough and the IRS has already taken certain collection steps, it can certify your debt to the State Department, and the State Department can deny your passport application, refuse to renew it, or revoke the one in your drawer. That's the bad news.

Here's the good news: this is one of the most fixable problems in IRS collection. Certification can be reversed, and in most cases the fix is the same thing that fixes the underlying debt.

After more than three decades of doing this, I can tell you most people find out the hard way. A renewal gets denied a week before a trip, or someone living abroad learns their passport is no longer valid. You don't have to find out that way.

What "seriously delinquent tax debt" means

The law behind this is Internal Revenue Code Section 7345. It only applies to what the statute calls a seriously delinquent tax debt. A big balance by itself isn't enough. All of these have to be true:

The tax has been formally assessed, it's unpaid, and it's still legally collectible. The total, including penalties and interest, is more than the annual threshold. For 2026, that's more than $66,000, and the number goes up with inflation every year. And the IRS has either filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien and your appeal rights on it are used up or expired, or the IRS has issued a levy.

Notice what that means. Plenty of people owe more than $66,000 without being certified, because the IRS hasn't filed a lien or levied yet. And plenty of people get certified without doing anything new, because interest and penalties quietly pushed an old balance over the line.

Debts the IRS won't certify

Even if you're over the threshold, some debts are excluded. The IRS won't certify a debt that's being paid on time under an installment agreement, a debt covered by an accepted offer in compromise, or a debt where a Collection Due Process hearing on a levy is pending. A pending innocent spouse request also protects the liability it covers.

The IRS has also said it won't certify debts in several other situations, including accounts in Currently Not Collectible hardship status, taxpayers in bankruptcy, identity theft victims, deceased taxpayers, people in federally declared disaster areas, and people with a pending installment agreement request or pending offer. If one of those fits you, certification may be avoidable altogether.

How you find out

When the IRS certifies your debt, it mails you Notice CP508C. Pay attention to this: the IRS says it doesn't send a copy of that notice to your power of attorney. If you have a representative, tell them the day it arrives.

Before the State Department revokes a passport you already hold, the IRS generally sends Letter 6152, which warns you that revocation is coming and gives you another chance to resolve the debt. If you apply for a new passport or a renewal while you're certified, the State Department will typically hold your application for a limited time to give you a chance to fix things before it denies it.

How to get your passport back

Certification gets reversed when the debt is no longer seriously delinquent. The main ways to get there:

Pay the balance in full. Get into an installment agreement and make the payments. Get an offer in compromise accepted. Prove the debt was certified in error, for example because it was already being paid under an agreement or the collection statute had expired. Or get into a status that's excluded, such as Currently Not Collectible.

Here's the part most people miss. Paying the balance down below the threshold usually doesn't reverse a certification that already happened. You need full payment or a qualifying arrangement. If you're writing a big check just to get under $66,000, talk to someone first.

Once the debt is resolved, the IRS notifies the State Department, generally within 30 days. If you have international travel coming up or you live abroad, the IRS can expedite the reversal, but you have to ask, and you have to show the need.

You also have a right to challenge a certification you believe is wrong. The law lets you ask the U.S. Tax Court or a federal district court to decide whether the certification was erroneous.

If you live overseas

This hits expats hardest. If you live abroad and your passport is revoked, the State Department may issue a limited passport that only lets you travel back to the United States. That's not a trip anyone wants to plan around. If you're outside the country and owe the IRS, get ahead of this before your renewal comes due.

This is general information, not legal advice, and every case is different. The right move depends on how much you owe, whether you're already certified, and when you need to travel.

Bottom line: If you owe the IRS more than $66,000 and the IRS has filed a lien or levied, your passport is at risk. An installment agreement, an accepted offer, hardship status, or full payment can prevent certification or reverse it, and if you have travel coming up, the IRS can move faster when you ask.

Frequently asked questions

How much tax debt does it take to lose your passport?

For 2026, more than $66,000 in combined tax, penalties, and interest, and the IRS must have filed a lien with your appeal rights exhausted or issued a levy. The threshold adjusts for inflation each year.

Will a payment plan protect my passport?

Yes. A debt being paid on time under an installment agreement isn't seriously delinquent, so it won't be certified, and getting into an agreement is one of the fastest ways to reverse a certification that already happened.

Does the IRS take my passport or does the State Department?

The IRS certifies the debt. The State Department acts on that certification by denying an application or renewal, or by revoking or limiting a passport you already have.

How long does it take to reverse a certification?

Once the debt is resolved, the IRS generally notifies the State Department within 30 days. If you have imminent international travel or live abroad, you can ask the IRS to expedite the reversal.

Can I be certified if I'm in Currently Not Collectible status?

The IRS has said it won't certify debts it has placed in Currently Not Collectible hardship status. If your finances qualify, hardship status can protect your passport.

Talk to a tax attorney

Every IRS case is different. If you want a straight answer about your situation, Darrin Mish has spent more than three decades getting people out from under the IRS. The first conversation is free and confidential.

Schedule a free consultation (813) 229-7100

This page is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. IRS rules change and every situation is different. Talk to a qualified tax professional about your specific facts.