The CP508C is the notice nobody expects. The IRS has certified your tax debt as "seriously delinquent" to the State Department under IRC Section 7345. The practical effect: the State Department can deny your passport application, refuse to renew your passport, or in extreme cases, revoke your existing passport.
You read that right. Owe enough taxes and you can't leave the country.
What Triggers Certification
The IRS certifies your debt when it exceeds a threshold amount (currently around $62,000, adjusted annually for inflation) and you haven't entered into an installment agreement, submitted an offer in compromise, or otherwise resolved the balance. The threshold includes tax, penalties, and interest combined across all assessed periods.
Certain taxpayers are excluded from certification: those in bankruptcy, victims of identity theft related to the debt, those in combat zones, those with pending CDP hearings, those with accepted installment agreements, and those in Currently Not Collectible status due to hardship.
How to Get Decertified
The IRS must reverse the certification when you pay the balance below the threshold, enter into an installment agreement and are in compliance, have an accepted Offer in Compromise, or successfully challenge the underlying assessment.
The fastest path to decertification is usually entering into an installment agreement. Even a small monthly payment can trigger decertification. The IRS is required to reverse the certification within 30 days of the qualifying event, and the State Department typically processes the reversal within a few weeks after that.
If You Need to Travel
If you have imminent travel plans and your passport is affected, contact the IRS immediately at the number on the CP508C. Explain the urgency and work to establish one of the qualifying conditions for decertification. In some cases, the Taxpayer Advocate Service can expedite the process.
If you've received a CP508C, call us at (813) 229-7100. We can get you into an installment agreement and start the decertification process.