Can I Get a Passport If I Owe Taxes?

Yes, the IRS can block your passport if you owe back taxes — but only above a specific threshold and only after specific notices. The authority comes from the FAST Act of 2015 (26 U.S.C. § 7345), which directs the IRS to certify "seriously delinquent" tax debt to the State Department. Once certified, the State Department can deny new applications, refuse renewals, and in some cases revoke an existing passport.

For 2026, a debt is "seriously delinquent" if it exceeds $64,000 (indexed annually for inflation) and the IRS has either filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien with all administrative remedies exhausted, or issued a levy. The dollar threshold and process are statutory; the IRS does not have discretion to certify smaller balances.

How the certification process works

The IRS sends Notice CP508C ("Notice of certification of your seriously delinquent federal tax debt to the State Department") at the same time it certifies your debt. This is the formal warning. The State Department typically holds new applications for 90 days after certification to give you time to resolve the debt or contest the certification.

After certification, the State Department will not issue a new passport or renew an existing one. Existing passports are not automatically revoked, but the State Department has authority to revoke them — and increasingly does so for taxpayers who travel internationally on outdated passports while certified.

The IRS reverses certification (and notifies the State Department within 30 days) when the debt is resolved through full payment, an active installment agreement, an accepted Offer in Compromise, Currently Not Collectible status, innocent spouse relief, or a pending Collection Due Process appeal.

Exceptions and exclusions

Some debts that exceed the threshold are still excluded from certification. The IRS does not certify debts that are:

• In an active installment agreement.
• Subject to an accepted Offer in Compromise.
• In Currently Not Collectible status.
• Subject to a pending Collection Due Process hearing or innocent spouse election.
• Subject to a timely-requested innocent spouse relief claim.

There are also temporary humanitarian exceptions — for example, the State Department can issue a limited-validity passport for return travel to the United States by a citizen abroad whose passport has been revoked.

How to fix it

Every path back to a usable passport runs through resolving or formally contesting the debt:

• Pay the debt in full if you can. The IRS reverses certification within 30 days of full payment.
• Set up an installment agreement. Active installment agreements (where you are current on payments) are excluded from certification, and the IRS reverses the certification within 30 days of acceptance.
• File an Offer in Compromise. An accepted OIC removes certification, and even a pending OIC is treated as protective if filed in good faith.
• Request Currently Not Collectible. If your finances genuinely cannot support a payment plan, CNC status removes certification.
• Contest the certification. If it is incorrect (wrong amount, debt already paid, or an active resolution that was missed), file a Collection Due Process appeal or a court action under § 7345(e). Most challenges are resolved administratively.

If you have an upcoming international trip and you have already received CP508C or a CP504 notice that suggests certification is coming, do not wait. The fastest reliable path back to a usable passport is documented entry into a resolution program.

Travel risk for current passport holders

A certified taxpayer with a still-valid passport is in an unusual position: the passport works until the State Department revokes it. In practice, revocation has been used most aggressively against taxpayers with very large balances and against taxpayers who travel internationally while certified. Citizens abroad whose passport is revoked can usually get a limited-validity document for return travel only.

If you are currently certified and have international travel coming up, the safer path is to enter a resolution program first. Reversal happens within 30 days of acceptance into an installment agreement or OIC.

Need help moving fast? Call (833) 839-9287 or schedule a free consultation. We can pull your account transcripts the same day to confirm whether certification has happened and what the fastest reversal path looks like.