Thousands of Americans May Be Blocked From Getting Passports If They Owe Taxes

More than a quarter of a million Americans are at risk of losing their passports unless they pay their taxes, according to a new study released by the US Treasury. And that’s because in February, the federal government started to enforce a law that was passed three years ago.

This year, the Internal Revenue Service has been enforcing a law signed in 2015, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (or FAST) Act, which requires the agency to notify the State Department about people who owe a “seriously delinquent tax debt.” That means that the IRS is notifying the State Department about taxpayers who owe more than $51,000 in back taxes, penalties, and interest.

The FAST Act requires the State Department to deny passport applications or renewal applications, and in some cases revoke the passports, for people with such substantial tax debts. If a debtor applies for a passport, the application is left open for 90 days so the applicant can resolve the issue, and if they don’t, they need to reapply for the passport.

The Treasury study states that 362,000 people are affected by the new policy, and the IRS is sending names in batches to the State Department, which has already denied passports to some people with tax debt.  Overall, individuals had paid over $11.5 million, and 1,400 other people had signed up for a payment program.

If this applies to you, you can avoid having the IRS notify the State Department by paying your tax debt in full, or paying it under an approved installment plan or compromise agreement. Please contact our offer for a consultation about your situation and to understand how to move the process forward.