U.S. CITIZENS: Risks of Tax Non-Compliance

A brief article on the risks associated with not complying w

 

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 2018 the 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.

 

The preceding information is for educational purposes only. As it is impossible to include all situations, circumstances and exceptions in a newsletter such as this, a further review should be done by a qualified professional.

No individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this letter accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.

Marsha MacLean Professional Corporation