Passport Revocation

Since 2018 the IRS has been able to certify seriously delinquent tax debt to the State Department, which then denies passport applications and renewals and can revoke a passport already issued. For anyone who travels for work or family, this is the collection tool with the most immediate bite, and it is also one of the most fixable.

How certification happens

Section 7345 lets the IRS certify an assessed, enforceable debt above a threshold set at $50,000 in the statute and indexed each year, once a lien has been filed and the lien hearing rights have lapsed or a levy has issued. The IRS sends a CP508C when it certifies. The State Department then holds any pending passport application for 90 days to allow the debt to be resolved before denying it.

What is excluded

Debts being paid under an installment agreement or an accepted offer in compromise are not certified. Nor are balances with a pending collection due process hearing or innocent spouse request, accounts in hardship status, debts of taxpayers in bankruptcy or a combat zone, and debts the IRS has identified as identity theft. Certification of a debt in one of these categories is an error and should be reversed on request.

Reversing it

Reversal follows from the same events that would have prevented certification: paying the debt, or placing it in an installment agreement, an accepted offer in compromise, or currently not collectible status. The IRS notifies the State Department within about 30 days and sends a CP508R. Where travel is scheduled within 45 days, the IRS can expedite reversal on proof of the trip and a pending passport application.

The installment agreement route is the one that works in most cases, because it does not require the money up front and the certification lifts once the agreement is accepted, not once the debt is paid.

Court review

Section 7345 allows a suit in the Tax Court or a federal district court to decide whether a certification was erroneous or should have been reversed. The court cannot reconsider the underlying tax, only the certification. It is a remedy for genuine errors, not a way to keep a passport while a debt goes unpaid. The IRS collections overview shows where certification sits among the other enforcement tools.