What Is IRS Letter CP508C?
The IRS sends Letter CP508C as a notice to taxpayers who have a seriously delinquent tax debt, advising them of the referral to the state department preventing renewal of their passport, or potential revocation. It informs them of the consequences of not filing their tax returns on time and the potential penalties they may be subject to.
What does Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt mean?
- Tax Debt Totals more than $55,000
- The IRS has already filed A Notice of Federal Tax Lien
- A Levy Has been Issued.
The Internal Revenue Service sends IRS Letters, CP Notices, as part of their collection efforts. In this letter the IRS communicates with taxpayers about their tax account or other purposes. The IRS will send letters to taxpayer contacts, correspondence, and information gathered from various sources. The letters include:
- Notices of changes to a taxpayer’s account.
- Explanations of tax laws and regulations.
- Notifications of penalties or interest charges due on unpaid taxes.
Whenever you face serious tax debt, you need to take care of this as soon as possible. The IRS will send CP508C Notice when your outstanding tax debt totals over 54k to remind you of the seriousness of the situation. by certifying your debt seriously delinquent.
The IRS will certify your tax debt before sending any notice to the state Department of State following IRC Section 7345. IRC Section 7345 requires the IRS to notify the state Department of State of individuals who incur such tax liability
After getting certification from the IRS, the State Department might change your status and choose to revoke your passport or deny you a new one. This might limit your country of residence only to the USA.
What is IRS Letter CP508C? Click for Resolution Options
Can The IRS Revoke Your Passport?
The answer to this question is yes! Congress passed a new law towards the end of 2015, allowing the IRS to revoke the passports of U.S. citizens with significant tax debts – seriously delinquent tax debt. In addition, they may prevent issuing passports to those deemed at risk of flight, refusing to abide by the terms of their tax agreements.
The revocation process is that the IRS certifies to the Secretary of State that you owe them a lot in back taxes, and once they make this decision, it’s up to the Secretary of state to revoke your passport. Those facing seriously delinquent tax debt may find that the IRS assessed their liability at over $54,000, and filed a notice of tax lien. In such cases, the person’s rights to participate in a collection due process hearing have expired, or the IRS has already issued a tax levy.
Could You Give Me The Backstory So I Can Better Understand It?
Yes. First of all, $50,000 refers to a tax liability rather than just the tax itself. It includes penalties and interest as well. Secondly, it must be assessed-taxes can be assessed either by filing a return or through an assessment based upon an investigation of your records (different for different kinds of taxes).
There’s a chance that IRS may believe you owe additional taxes, and you might disagree with this or not fully understand. It’s essential to exercise your rights to protect yourself by defending against an assessment. This will help prevent them from seizing your passport as well.
How Does Passport Revocation Work?
Your passport renewal could be denied unless you take care of your taxes. The IRS will certify that you owe this money, and the State Department will revoke or limit your passport. It’s essential to take care of this issue as soon as possible, so take a look at how it works:
What Is IRS Letter CP508C?
It is Certification. As soon as the IRS manages to confirm that you are a delinquent taxpayer, they will send out a CP508C Notice to your last known address. This Notice only contains information about you and your lawyer, CPA or EA Power of Attorney on record will not receive a copy.
Reversal of Certification
Reversal of certification occurs through notice CP508R.
After receiving the CP508C Notice, you can reverse the certification by IRS, who will also hold your passport application for 90 days to allow you to resolve the issue by:
- Paying all the taxes, you owe and
- Resolving any discrepancies will resolve the issue.
Suppose you have resolved any issue with the IRS and determined that they have made an error in their previous computation. In that case, they will issue a CP508R Notice within 30 days reversing their original certification. The IRS would not reverse the certification if your payment were below the threshold amount.
Court Review of Certification
If you disagree with the tax amount or the certification was made in error, you should contact the phone number on Notice CP508C: 855-519-4965; 267-941-1004 (international callers). If you’ve already paid the tax debt, please send proof of that payment to the address on Notice CP508C.
If the IRS fails to reverse, you can file a case in a U.S. District Court or Tax Court. If the court determines that your certification was invalid, they can order the IRS to tell the State Department. The State Department will then clear your name, allowing you to recover your passport or proceed accordingly.
Referral to Revoke Passport
If you fail to settle your delinquent tax debt, you will receive Letter 6152 from the IRS asking you to resolve the matter within 30 days. They are contacting you before they certify your debt as seriously delinquent to the State department – which will prevent you from renewing your passport and may even have it revoked. If you still don’t work it out by then, the IRS will send another letter with a final demand for full payment of all taxes owed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Did The IRS Notify Me?
Here are some common causes why you may receive a notice from the IRS:
- Because of a balance due.
- If you have due to a larger or smaller refund.
- Queries about tax returns.
- Verification your identification
- For additional information.
What Happens After The IRS sends an LT11 Notice or Letter 1058?
To protect your property, you are required by law to receive a Notice of Intent to Levy before the IRS seizes it, and you have the right to a hearing.
Why Did You Receive LT11 or IRS Letter 1058?
- You filed with a balance due and did not pay by the due date.
- The IRS sent you multiple notices requesting payment but never received payment.
- You have the right to a hearing after receiving Letter 1058 or LT11 from the IRS to collect an unpaid tax debt. They let you know that they threaten to levy your property, including salary and bank accounts.
What Does IRS Notice CP504B Mean?
If you’re receiving a CP504B or CP504 notice, it means you have an overdue tax bill. It also means the IRS has reached out to you in the past and been unable to help because either you can’t afford to pay the balance due or wish to dispute it.
What If I Can’t Pay My Tax Debt?
There are many options available to you.
One possibility is to submit a compromise offer to allow your debt to be paid off for less than the total portion you owe.
You could request Non Collectible Status
Or, You can enter into an installment agreement.
If you do nothing and your taxes remain seriously delinquent, your passport could be revoked.
Can The U.S. Government Take Away Your Passport?
Suppose you are certified to the Department of State by the Secretary of the Treasury as having seriously delinquent tax debt. In that case, they will not issue a U.S. passport, and your current U.S. passport may be revoked.
Why Would a Passport Be Revoked?
There are various reasons why the state department may want to revoke your passport, such as:
- The individual has an outstanding detention warrant for a felony.
- In relation to a court order.
- The person is a convicted drug smuggler who used their passport to enter the country.
- Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt
Does The IRS Check Your Passport?
The IRS technically can’t take your passport, but they can send the State Department a form that may result in you being restricted in your travels. They will accept resolution in the form of an installment agreement to pay them back.
After sending you letter CP508C, they will send a letter to the state department certifying your debt as seriously delinquent.
Can IRS Stop You from Traveling?
Filing taxes is essential, and if you don’t do it on time, the IRS can take steps to rectify this. If you owe a significant amount of back taxes, the IRS can block your passport to make sure you pay your debt. They will do this by certifying your debt to the state department as seriously delinquent.
How Do I Know If the IRS Sent Letter CP508C and Contacted the Department of State?
If you need to know if your passport has been canceled or revoked, the best way to contact the State Department is by calling the National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778. You can also call the IRS at 1800-829-1040 – or the best way if to pull transcripts and review the codes:
Get Transcript | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)
If you need help interpreting your transcripts after you download them , click here:
Passport Revocation Transcript Analysis – Global Accountant Network (global-accountant.net)
How Long Does It Take to Get My Passport Back from The IRS?
The IRS claims that they will send your CP508R back within 30 days of your entering into a resolution -even 14 days under imminent travel plans. To take advantage of this expedited timeframe you must provide:
- Proof Of Travel
- Copy of the letter from the Department of State denying or revoking your passport.
What Is One-Time Forgiveness?
IRS first-time penalty abatement is a program that, for many years, has allowed people who otherwise fulfill all requirements of being “textbook taxpayers” to make an innocent mistake. These mistakes may involve their tax filing or payment and are subject to penalties.
In Order to qualify to penalty relief due to first time penalty abatement, you must meet the following requirements:
- You did not have a filing requirement, or you don’t have penalties for the 3 years prior.
- You are up to date with your tax returns.
- Your tax balance is paid or under installment agreement.
What Is Revoked Passport?
Federal laws allow the U.S. Department of State to revoke passports used illegally or fraudulently, such as buying a passport on the black market, not to mention Tampering with or using the passport illegally.
A passport can also revoked for not paying your taxes. If you owe over $54,000 and the IRS has filed a Notice of tax lien or issued a levy, your debt is considered Seriously Delinquent. At that point, the IRS will send you letter form CP508C to let you know they are communicating this fact to the State department. The state department will not renew your passport and they may even revoke it.
