What is the passport certification threshold for 2026?

The IRS lists $66,000 for 2026, and the debt must total more than that amount. Section 7345 set the original amount at more than $50,000 and requires a yearly inflation adjustment, rounded to the nearest $1,000. The IRS table shows $62,000 for 2024 and $64,000 for 2025. The amount counts unpaid, legally enforceable federal tax debt, including assessed penalties and interest, and the IRS must also have filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien with administrative remedies exhausted or lapsed, or issued a levy.

Will an installment agreement or an offer reverse the certification?

It can. A debt being paid in a timely manner under an installment agreement or an accepted offer in compromise is not a seriously delinquent tax debt under section 7345(b)(2). Section 7345(c) then requires the IRS to notify the Treasury, for transmission to the State Department, no later than 30 days after the agreement is entered into or the offer is accepted. The IRS says a taxpayer who cannot pay in full may qualify for reversal by entering into an alternative payment arrangement, such as an installment agreement or an offer in compromise, that the taxpayer must fully resolve all certified tax debt to qualify for decertification, and that it will not reverse a certification merely because partial payments bring the balance below the threshold.

Can a reversal be expedited for travel?

The IRS says a taxpayer with an open or pending passport application and international travel within 45 days should contact it promptly, and that when it expedites a reversal it can generally shorten the standard 30-day processing time to 9 to 16 days. An open passport application or renewal request is required. The taxpayer must tell the IRS of travel within 45 days or of living abroad, and must provide proof of travel and a copy of the State Department letter denying the application or revoking the passport, dated within the last 90 days. The IRS says the taxpayer must fully resolve all certified tax debt to qualify for decertification.

Is a debt in hardship Currently Not Collectible status certified?

The IRS says it will not certify a taxpayer whose account has been determined to be currently not collectible due to hardship. Internal Revenue Manual 5.16.1.2.9 adds that if a certified taxpayer is later determined to be currently not collectible due to hardship, the IRS will reverse the certification and notify the State Department within 30 days. Currently not collectible status does not end the debt; penalties and interest continue to accrue.

Section 7345

IRS passport certification for seriously delinquent tax debt.

Section 7345 of the Internal Revenue Code provides for the IRS to certify an individual's seriously delinquent tax debt to the Treasury, which sends the certification to the State Department. The IRS says the State Department generally will not issue a passport after receiving the certification and may also deny a passport application or revoke a current passport. For 2026, the IRS says a seriously delinquent tax debt is legally enforceable, unpaid federal tax debt, including assessed penalties and interest, totaling more than $66,000, an amount adjusted yearly for inflation, and the IRS must have filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien with administrative remedies exhausted or lapsed, or issued a levy.

Mr. Powell reviews whether a certification should have been made or should now be reversed, and represents the taxpayer in the payment arrangement, offer in compromise, or U.S. Tax Court case that can lead to a reversal, from 1629 K Street NW, Suite 300 in Washington, DC.

Internal Revenue Code section 7345 (2024 United States Code edition), the IRS page on revocation or denial of passports for unpaid taxes (last reviewed July 28, 2026), the IRS CP508C notice page, IRM 5.16.1, and the IRS page on temporarily delaying collection were checked on GovInfo and IRS.gov on October 6, 2026. The threshold is adjusted for inflation every year. This page does not decide whether any debt is certified or calculate an individual balance.

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What counts as seriously delinquent tax debt.

Section 7345(b)(1) defines a seriously delinquent tax debt as an unpaid, legally enforceable federal tax liability of an individual that has been assessed, that is greater than $50,000 as adjusted for inflation, and for which either a notice of lien has been filed and the hearing rights under section 6320 have been exhausted or have lapsed, or a levy has been made under section 6331.

The IRS says these debts include individual income taxes, trust fund recovery penalties, business taxes for which the taxpayer is personally liable, and other civil penalties, and lists the threshold as $66,000 for 2026.

Official source: 26 U.S.C. 7345, revocation or denial of passport in case of certain tax delinquencies
Official source: IRS, Revocation or denial of passport in cases of certain unpaid taxes

Not certified

Debts and taxpayers left out.

Excluded by statute
Section 7345(b)(2) excludes a debt being paid in a timely manner under an installment agreement under section 6159 or an offer in compromise under section 7122, and a debt whose collection is suspended because a Collection Due Process hearing on a levy under section 6330 is requested or pending, or because innocent spouse relief under section 6015 is elected or requested.
Not counted by the IRS
The IRS also lists child support, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Account (FBAR) penalties, and settlement agreements entered into with the Department of Justice as not seriously delinquent tax debt.
Taxpayers the IRS will not certify
The IRS says it will not certify a taxpayer whose account has been determined to be currently not collectible due to hardship, who has a pending request for an installment agreement or an offer in compromise, who has been identified as a victim of tax-related identity theft, who is in bankruptcy, who is located within a federally declared disaster area, or who has an IRS accepted adjustment that will fully satisfy the tax debt. It also postpones certification for taxpayers serving in a designated combat zone or participating in a contingency operation.

Official source: 26 U.S.C. 7345(b)(2)
Official source: IRS, What tax debts aren't certified to the State Department?

Notice CP508C and the State Department's 90 days.

The IRS says it sends notice CP508C by regular mail to the taxpayer's last known address when it certifies the debt, and that it does not send a copy to the taxpayer's power of attorney. Section 7345(d) requires the notice to describe, in simple and nontechnical terms, the right to bring a civil action to challenge the certification.

The IRS says that when a taxpayer with a certified debt applies for or renews a passport, the State Department sends a letter and holds the application open for 90 days from the date of the letter, to allow time to enter a satisfactory payment arrangement with the IRS, pay the debt in full, or resolve an erroneous certification. If that does not happen within the 90 days, the application is denied and closed, and a new application is needed. For a taxpayer with a certified debt who is overseas, the IRS says the State Department may issue a limited-validity passport allowing a direct return to the United States. The IRS may also ask the State Department to revoke a passport, and says it sends Letter 6152 first, asking the taxpayer to call to resolve the account.

Official source: IRS, How it works
Official source: IRS, Understanding your CP508C notice

Reversal of the certification.

Section 7345(c) requires the IRS to notify the Treasury, which then notifies the State Department, when a certification is found to be erroneous, or when the debt is fully satisfied or stops being seriously delinquent because of a timely paid installment agreement or offer, a requested or pending Collection Due Process hearing, or an innocent spouse election or request. It sets the timing of the IRS notice: for an installment agreement or an offer in compromise, no later than 30 days after the agreement is entered into or the offer is accepted; for an innocent spouse election or request, no later than 30 days after it is made; for a debt fully satisfied or legally unenforceable, no later than the date a certificate of release of lien is due; and for an erroneous certification, as soon as practicable. The IRS says it reverses a certification and notifies the State Department within 30 days of resolving the debt.

The IRS says it sends notice CP508R when it reverses a certification. It also says it will not reverse a certification if a Collection Due Process hearing request or innocent spouse request concerns a debt that is not certified, or if the debt falls below the threshold through partial payments or the expiration of collection statutes.

Official source: 26 U.S.C. 7345(c), reversal of certification
Official source: IRS, Reversal of certification

Court review.

Under section 7345(e), after the IRS gives notice of a certification, the taxpayer may sue the United States in a federal district court, or the Commissioner in the U.S. Tax Court, to determine whether the certification was erroneous or whether the IRS failed to reverse it. The court that first acquires jurisdiction over the action has sole jurisdiction. If the court finds the certification erroneous, it may order the Treasury to notify the State Department. The IRS says the law does not give the court authority to release a lien or levy or to award money damages in that suit, and that a taxpayer is not required to file an administrative claim with the IRS before suing.

Official source: 26 U.S.C. 7345(e), judicial review of certification
Official source: IRS, Judicial review of certification

Questions

Common questions.

What is the passport certification threshold for 2026?
The IRS lists $66,000 for 2026, and the debt must total more than that amount. Section 7345 set the original amount at more than $50,000 and requires a yearly inflation adjustment, rounded to the nearest $1,000. The IRS table shows $62,000 for 2024 and $64,000 for 2025. The amount counts unpaid, legally enforceable federal tax debt, including assessed penalties and interest, and the IRS must also have filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien with administrative remedies exhausted or lapsed, or issued a levy.
Will an installment agreement or an offer reverse the certification?
It can. A debt being paid in a timely manner under an installment agreement or an accepted offer in compromise is not a seriously delinquent tax debt under section 7345(b)(2). Section 7345(c) then requires the IRS to notify the Treasury, for transmission to the State Department, no later than 30 days after the agreement is entered into or the offer is accepted. The IRS says a taxpayer who cannot pay in full may qualify for reversal by entering into an alternative payment arrangement, such as an installment agreement or an offer in compromise, that the taxpayer must fully resolve all certified tax debt to qualify for decertification, and that it will not reverse a certification merely because partial payments bring the balance below the threshold.
Can a reversal be expedited for travel?
The IRS says a taxpayer with an open or pending passport application and international travel within 45 days should contact it promptly, and that when it expedites a reversal it can generally shorten the standard 30-day processing time to 9 to 16 days. An open passport application or renewal request is required. The taxpayer must tell the IRS of travel within 45 days or of living abroad, and must provide proof of travel and a copy of the State Department letter denying the application or revoking the passport, dated within the last 90 days. The IRS says the taxpayer must fully resolve all certified tax debt to qualify for decertification.
Is a debt in hardship Currently Not Collectible status certified?
The IRS says it will not certify a taxpayer whose account has been determined to be currently not collectible due to hardship. Internal Revenue Manual 5.16.1.2.9 adds that if a certified taxpayer is later determined to be currently not collectible due to hardship, the IRS will reverse the certification and notify the State Department within 30 days. Currently not collectible status does not end the debt; penalties and interest continue to accrue.

Official source: IRM 5.16.1.2.9, hardship and section 7345
Official source: IRS, Revocation or denial of passport in cases of certain unpaid taxes
Official source: IRS, Temporarily delay the collection process

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