Starting January 1, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service will be given a new power – IRS Given Passport Cancellation Power under new legislation to deny, rescind, or limit a passport of anyone who owes the IRS more than $50,000. This threshold amount includes both taxes, interest and penalties. From a practical perspective, this threshold dollar amount is not difficult to amass for the average self-employed taxpayer who can have tax rates close to 50% once social security taxes are factored in, or individuals with significant income. From my perspective, if the law was limited to criminal matters, it would make more sense.
The good news, is that the IRS will not rescind or hinder the ability of an individual to have a passport where 1) that individual has entered into an installment agreement with the IRS to pay the back taxes, 2) for humanitarian reasons, or 3) if the taxpayer is contesting the tax liability in Court or an administrative proceeding. This new legislation will be under section 7345 of the tax code, called “Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Tax Delinquencies.” Therefore, IRS Given Passport Cancellation Power does have some limits
While different from New York States revocation of a taxpayers drivers license if they owe NYS taxes, it is very troubling nonetheless in that it restricts the ability to travel (or in NY’s case simply drive) which can directly impact a persons ability to generate income to pay for their tax obligation. I doubt this legislation will cause delinquent tax collections to rise dramatically, and may have the unfortunate impact of hurting taxpayers who are already hurting economically.
