Travelers Be Aware: IRS Revokes Passports if IRS Balance Exceeds $50,000

  UNITED STATES - 07/31/2018 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Travelers Be Aware: IRS Revokes Passports if IRS Balance Exceeds $50,000

July 31, 2018

RIGBY, Idaho—If you travel often and have fallen behind in your taxes, you need to be aware that the IRS can seize your passport if your unpaid IRS balance exceeds $50,000 in back taxes, penalties, and interest. Due to the implementation of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act in January 2018, the IRS is now required to notify the State Department of taxpayers in serious tax debt. The State Department can then 1) deny passport applications, 2) deny renewal of a passport, or 3) revoke the passport of a taxpayer in serious delinquent tax debt. 

This new law will affect all taxpayers in serious tax debt unless they pay back the debt in full or pay it back through a payment alternative like an installment agreement, an offer in compromise, or an alternative settlement agreement. In advance to revoking the passport, individuals will be notified by an IRS letter and will have 90 days to respond to keep their passport. If the taxpayer responds to the IRS with the intention of paying the debt in full or through an installment plan or offer in compromise, the passport will likely not be revoked. 

Not everyone who is in severe tax debt has a passport at risk. The State Department cannot seize a passport if the taxpayer is in bankruptcy, the victim of tax-related identity theft, placed in not collectible status due to a financial hardship, or located within a federally declared disaster area. The taxpayer’s passport will also not be at risk if the taxpayer has a request pending with the IRS for an installment agreement or an offer in compromise. 

Individuals are already losing their privilege to receive or renew passports, as well having them revoked. Private Tax Solutions’ CEO, Jon Miller, says “We’ve helped people who were desperate for tax relief solutions keep their passport when their tax problems became really serious.” If you are facing significant tax debt and travel often, either for work or leisure, you need to begin the process of paying off your tax debt. 

About Private Tax Solutions 

Private Tax Solutions provides cloud accounting and tax services to professional service firms, entrepreneurs, and individuals throughout the United States. We specialize in solving tax problems including tax debts and unfiled tax returns. Utilizing a staff of CPAs, Enrolled Agents, Quickbooks ProAdvisors and a terrific support team, we strive to make Private Tax Solutions the best one-stop financial services company around. 

Private Tax Solutions’ Phone: 844-774-8829