Risks of Tax Non-Compliance?
Commencing January 1, 2016, the U.S. State Department was able to deny or revoke passports to U.S. citizens having a “seriously delinquent tax debt”or no Social Security Number associated with their passport. A “seriously delinquent tax debt” is one where the taxpayer owed more than $51,000, after January 1, 2018 (indexed going forward), in tax, interest and penalties.
An Alert on the IRS website recently noted that commencing January 2018the IRS will begin certifying tax debts to the State Department. After receiving certification from the IRS, the State Department will not generally issue a passport.
In addition to passport denial and revocation, several states impose non-monetary non-criminal sanctions for certain taxpayers who are sufficiently delinquent on their taxes. For example, New York, California, Louisiana and Massachusetts may revoke driving privileges.
Action Item:
If you have an outstanding U.S. tax liability, or are concerned you may not be compliant with your U.S. tax obligations, contact us to discuss options.
