IRS passport revocation: the seriously delinquent debt rule
Enter the total assessed balance, what is arranged with the IRS, and whether a lien or levy exists. The calculator compares the balance with the 2026 threshold and the exclusions that block certification.
- Threshold for 2026
- $66,000
- Notice when certified
- CP508C
- Reversal sent within
- 30 days of resolving
- Application held open
- 90 days
Certified to the State Department?
Likely
Over the threshold with a lien or levy and nothing arranged: the IRS can certify and the State Department can deny or revoke the passport.
| Threshold for 2026 | $66,000 |
| Your balance | $71,800 |
| Gap | $5,800 |
IRC 7345; threshold adjusted for inflation each year. Payment plans, accepted offers, hardship status and pending requests exclude the debt.
Compiled by Radif Partners · How we calculate · rules and rates read on irs.gov · not tax advice, the IRS decides
Under section 7345 of the tax code, the IRS certifies to the State Department any individual with a seriously delinquent tax debt, and the State Department then generally refuses to issue or renew a passport and may revoke a current one. A debt is seriously delinquent when the assessed federal tax, penalties and interest total more than $66,000 in 2026 (the figure is adjusted each year for inflation), and the IRS has either filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien with the appeal rights exhausted or lapsed, or issued a levy. Debts in a payment plan paid on time, under an accepted or pending offer in compromise, in currently not collectible status, under a pending installment agreement request, or in a timely collection due process hearing are not certified. Certification brings a CP508C notice. The IRS reverses it within 30 days once the debt is resolved, but not when partial payments simply bring the balance under the threshold. At $71,800 with a lien filed and nothing arranged, a debt is $5,800 over the line.
The threshold, year by year
The IRS passport page publishes the threshold for each year since the rule took effect. It counts the total of assessed tax, penalties and interest, across all years and including some business taxes for which a person is personally liable and the trust fund recovery penalty.
| Year | Seriously delinquent above |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $51,000 |
| 2019 | $52,000 |
| 2020 | $53,000 |
| 2021 | $54,000 |
| 2022 | $55,000 |
| 2023 | $59,000 |
| 2024 | $62,000 |
| 2025 | $64,000 |
| 2026 | $66,000 |
The amount is only one of two conditions. The IRS must also have filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien and the taxpayer's administrative remedies on it must have lapsed or been exhausted, or the IRS must have issued a levy. A large balance that has never reached either stage is not certified on the size alone.
A balance below the line does not stay there by itself. Interest compounds daily on tax, penalties and earlier interest, so a debt of $61,500 left alone at the 7 % rate of the fourth quarter of 2026 passes $66,000 in about 13 months from interest alone, before any late payment penalty is counted. The threshold also rises each year, but by much less than that in most years, as the table shows.
Debts that are never certified
| Excluded by the IRS | Reason on the IRS page |
|---|---|
| Payment plan paid on time | approved installment agreement |
| Offer in compromise accepted and paid on time | accepted offer |
| Installment agreement or offer request pending | pending request |
| Currently not collectible because of hardship | hardship determination |
| Collection due process hearing on a levy timely requested | hearing request |
| Innocent spouse relief requested | collection suspended |
| Bankruptcy, identity theft victim, federally declared disaster area | listed exclusions |
| Child support, FBAR penalties, Justice Department settlements | not counted as tax debts here |
Taxpayers serving in a designated combat zone or a contingency operation have certification postponed.
Your balance against the threshold
Certified to the State Department?
Likely
| Threshold for 2026 | $66,000 |
| Your balance | $71,800 |
| Gap | $5,800 |
From certification to a refused passport
When the IRS certifies a debt, it mails a CP508C to the last known address by regular mail, and it does not send a copy to a power of attorney. The State Department then generally will not issue a passport. If a certified person applies or renews, the State Department sends a letter and holds the application open for 90 days so the person can pay, set up a payment arrangement, or correct an erroneous certification; after 90 days the application is denied and closed, and a new one is needed. A person abroad may be issued a limited-validity passport to return directly to the United States. Before asking the State Department to revoke an existing passport, the IRS sends Letter 6152 asking the taxpayer to call and resolve the account.
Getting the certification reversed
The IRS reverses certification, and says so in a CP508R notice, when the debt is fully satisfied or becomes legally unenforceable, when it is no longer seriously delinquent because an exclusion now applies, or when the certification was wrong. It notifies the State Department within 30 days of resolving the debt. With travel booked within 45 days and an open application, the IRS can expedite the reversal to about 9 to 16 days, on proof of travel and a copy of the State Department letter.
One rule surprises people: paying the balance down below $66,000 does not reverse certification by itself, and neither does part of the debt expiring under the collection statute. All certified debt has to be resolved, which in practice means full payment or an arrangement that excludes it. For $71,800, a payment plan over 84 months comes to $1,160 a month; above the $50,000 Simple Payment Plan limit, the IRS asks for a financial statement first, as described on the installment agreement page. An offer in compromise or hardship status also count once in place.
Disputes and court review
A taxpayer who believes the amount is wrong or the certification erroneous calls the numbers on the CP508C, 855-519-4965, or 267-941-1004 from abroad. Proof of a payment already made can be sent through the IRS document upload tool. A refund from a recently filed return is applied to the debt and can satisfy it. The law also allows a suit in the U.S. Tax Court or a federal district court to decide whether a certification is erroneous or should have been reversed, without first filing an administrative claim; the court can order the IRS to notify the State Department, but cannot release a lien or levy or award damages. Only the State Department issues, limits, denies or revokes passports; this page sets out the IRS rules and is not legal advice.