What is a Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt?

A Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt is an individual’s unpaid, legally enforceable federal tax debt totaling more than $51,000 (including interest and penalties and indexed annually for inflation) for which a:

• Notice of federal tax lien has been filed and all administrative remedies under Code Section 6320 have lapsed or been exhausted, OR
•  An IRS Tax Levy has been issued

The IRS computes the seriously delinquent tax debt by aggregating the total amount of all current tax liabilities for all taxable years and periods meeting the criteria described above, including interest and penalties. Any tax penalty can form the basis of a seriously delinquent tax debt. Non-tax liabilities, such as assessments under the Affordable Care Act, employer shared responsibility payments, and penalties for failure to file reports of foreign bank accounts (FBAR), are not included. If you received an IRS CP508C notice, the IRS has identified your tax debt as “seriously delinquent” and has provided that information to the State Department. The State Department generally will not renew your passport or issue a new passport to you after receiving this certification from the IRS, and they may remove or place limitations on your current passport. Upon receiving the certification of you tax debt from the IRS, the State Department may revoke your passport or limit it to return travel to the U.S. They also will deny passport applications. You can use your passport until you’re notified by the State Department that it’s taking action to revoke or limit your passport. If you think you have a tax debt but have not received any notices yet, ensure the IRS has your correct address on file. They send all notices to the last known address on your file. If you’ve received an IRS CP508C Notice and need assistance, contact us. We can help you.