What does the freedom of travel have to do with filing and paying your income taxes on time? It turns out–a lot.
More than 360,000 Americans with overdue tax debts will be denied new or renewed passports if they don’t settle those debts.
According to the Internal Revenue Service–and based on a law Congress passed in 2015– anyone who owes more than $51,000 in tax won’t get a passport.
The State Department has already begun denying passports to some folks who owe Uncle Sam. And how important is it to folks to have that passport? According to the IRS, already 220 Americans have handed over more than $11 million in tax debt to get new passports or their expired passports renewed. Others have agreed to installment payment plans.
One more warning: you can also be denied a passport if you are in arrears on child support payments. So now you know. You may not be able to leave the country if you haven’t paid up.
For more on travel and tax, check out:
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