The IRS passport letter—formally known as a CP508C Notice—is telling you that your passport is at risk due to your tax debt problems. If you don’t take action, the State Department may deny your next passport renewal or even remove or put limitations on your current passport.
Who Is at Risk of IRS Passport Actions?
The IRS will only certify tax debt to the State Department when a taxpayer meets the following conditions:
- Their tax debt exceeds $52,000, including penalties and interest.
- A Notice of Federal Tax Lien has been filed or a levy has been issued, and all administrative remedies have lapsed or been exhausted.
You have several options to avoid a passport denial before the IRS certifies your debt to the State Department. Once certification occurs, you may have fewer options, but you can still get the certification reversed using certain tax resolution strategies.
Improper IRS Passport Actions
There are several situations where the IRS is not permitted to certify your tax debt:
- You owe less than $52,000, including penalties and interest.
- You are in bankruptcy.
- You were a victim of tax identity theft.
- Your account is in currently not collectible status.
- You have a pending installment agreement request or Offer in Compromise.
If any of these circumstances apply to you, contact a tax attorney to attempt to stop the certification before it occurs.
If the information on your notice is correct, you should know what your options are for reversing the certification.
Reversing Certification of Your Tax Debt
You won’t be able to reverse the certification just by paying off some of your debt to reduce your balance to under $52,000. Instead, you’ll have to use one of the following tax resolution methods:
- Enter into a monthly payment plan.
- Submit an Offer in Compromise that is accepted by the IRS.
- Enter into a settlement agreement with the Justice Department.
- Request innocent spouse relief and have collection suspended.
- Make a timely request for a Collection Due Process hearing regarding an IRS levy.
Certification will also be reversed if you pay your tax debt in full or it is no longer legally enforceable. The IRS has 30 days to reverse the certification once any of these events take place.
Contact a tax attorney if you’ve received an IRS passport letter and want to keep your ability to travel overseas.
The Gartzman Law Firm can help you with passport actions and other IRS tax problems. Use our contact form to request a consultation with an Atlanta tax resolution attorney.