If you’ve received Notice CP508C, the IRS has certified your tax debt to the State Department. That means you owe over the threshold for seriously delinquent tax debt, and you will not be able to renew your passport or get a new one until you resolve the liability. Additionally, you’re at risk of passport revocation, but the IRS will send another notice before that happens.

This post outlines what to expect if you receive CP508C and how to protect your passport. To get help now, contact the tax debt attorney at Damiens Law. 

Key takeaways

• Notice CP508C says the IRS certified your seriously delinquent tax debt to the Department of State.
• You will not be able to get a new passport or renew your passport until the IRS reverses the certification. 
• Set up a payment arrangement or get a settlement approved to reverse the certification.
• If you don’t take action, the IRS may send Letter 6152 and revoke your passport. 
• A tax attorney can help you deal with the IRS and restore your travel privileges. 

Why You Received CP508C

The IRS sends Notice CP508C when it considers your taxes to be seriously delinquent. That means you owe over a certain threshold of tax debt, and you haven’t taken steps to resolve it. By the time you receive this notice, the agency has already forwarded your information to the U.S. Department of State so they can prevent you from getting a new passport or renewing your existing one.

The notice should contain the information you need to move forward and address the issue. It includes how much you have due, when it is due, and what you must do to avoid losing your passport. It also outlines the penalties and interest charged to your tax account.

What Are Seriously Delinquent Taxes?

To be considered seriously delinquent, your tax debt including interest and penalties must exceed an amount set by the IRS each year. In 2026, the limit is $66,000. It was originally set at $51,000 in 2018 but rises annually as it’s indexed to inflation. 

The IRS doesn’t include FBAR penalties or child support when calculating if you’re over the threshold. 

How to Respond to IRS Notice CP508C

Your response depends on the situation and your international travel plans. The fastest resolution is to pay in full, but that’s not always an option. If you want to protect your passport, you should reach out to the IRS or contact a tax attorney to help you negotiate one of the following resolutions:

• IRS installment agreement: Monthly payments on your tax debt. You may have to provide a collection information statement as you owe over the limit for a Simple Payment Plan. However, you may be able to avoid that by making a payment to get the debt under $50,000 or showing that you can pay off the debt within six years (as long as you owe under $250,000).
• Offer in compromise: A settlement for less than owed. If the IRS approves an offer based on your income and assets, the IRS will reverse the certification of your tax debt as soon as you pay the settlement. Then, you won’t have to worry about any negative effects on your travel plans. 
• Currently not collectible status: A pause on collection actions due to financial hardship. Once you get approved, the agency will mark your account as CNC and reverse the certification of your tax debt. However, they may still file a lien against your assets and request updates on your finances periodically.
• Innocent spouse relief: Liability relief for taxpayers who incurred debt due to their spouse. If all of the certified debt is due to actions your spouse or former spouse took without your knowledge, you should look into innocent spouse relief. However, if only part of the debt is due to innocent spouse relief, the IRS will not reverse the certification on the rest of the debt unless you resolve it as noted above.

Unfortunately, at this point, it’s too late to just make a partial payment. For example, if you owe $70,000 and send in a $10,000 payment, your debt will drop below the 2026 seriously delinquent threshold of $66,000, but the IRS won’t reverse the certification. You have to get payment arrangements approved by the agency.

What If You Don’t Respond to CP508C?

If you don’t respond, you won’t be able to get a new passport, your current passport will be at risk, and the IRS may enforce collections against you. Here’s what can happen if you ignore this notice:

• If you apply for a new passport or ask to renew your passport, the State Department will reject your application. They’ll send you a letter explaining why and keep your application open for 90 days to give you a chance to resolve the tax debt with the IRS. 
• The IRS may recommend revocation to the State Department. In particular, if you have offshore assets or businesses, the IRS may escalate to revocation which is when the State Department takes away your existing passport. You’ll be able to get back into the country, but you won’t be able to leave the United States or travel between other countries.
• More penalties and interest will accrue on your account. This is still an active tax debt, and it will incur interest until the collection period expires and penalties until they reach the legally mandated cap (for example, 25% of the original tax debt for the failure-to-pay penalty).
• The IRS may pursue other collection actions. The agency can garnish wages, levy bank accounts, and seize assets. 

What If the Certification Was in Error?

The IRS makes mistakes, and sometimes, taxpayers receive a CP508C passport notice erroneously. This can happen if the IRS included debt that should not have been considered when determining if you’re over the seriously delinquent debt threshold. It can also happen if the agency certifies debt but you’ve already set up a payment plan or meet another exclusion. 

If any of the following apply, the certification may be incorrect, and you should reach out to a tax attorney to talk about your case. Under the terms of the FAST Act which gave the IRS the ability to certify tax debts in 2018, the IRS shouldn’t certify a debt if:

• You are a victim of identity theft (related to your tax account).
• The IRS has accepted an adjustment that will settle the debt.
• There is a pending application for a payment plan or offer in compromise. 
• Your tax debt is on a payment plan or marked as currently not collectible status.
• You are in a federal disaster area.
• You have filed bankruptcy.
• You’re serving in a combat zone.

Finally, the IRS can only certify a tax debt if they’ve filed a tax lien or a levy, and all of your administrative rights have been exhausted. For example, the deadline for appealing the lien or levy with a Collection Due Process hearing has passed. 

How to Get the IRS to Reverse the Certification of Your Tax Debt

As explained above, the IRS will reverse the tax debt certification if you get a payment arrangement or relief option approved by the agency. Once that happens, they will send you Notice CP508R, explaining that the certification has been reversed. 

Note that having an agreement in place with the IRS is what leads to them reversing your certification – not just getting your tax debt below $66,000 or whichever threshold applies for the current year. Unfortunately, even if you send in a payment to get the balance below the current limit, the IRS won’t reverse the certification. Similarly, the agency won’t reverse the certification if the tax debt falls below the seriously delinquent level due to some of it expiring or because you applied for innocent spouse relief on a portion of the tax debt. 

How Long Does Certification Reversal Take?

Typically, once the IRS agrees to a payment arrangement, they’ll contact the State Department, within 30 days, and then, the State Department will remove the certification. The process takes about 45 to 90 days once a resolution has been approved or you’ve paid the settlement.

However, if you have travel plans, you may be able to expedite the certification reversal. A tax attorney can help you secure a resolution to the tax debt as quickly as possible. Once that’s in place, the IRS will send the certification reversal notice to the State Department within nine to 21 days if you meet the requirements. 

Protect Your Passport: Get Help From a Tax Attorney

When you face losing your passport or having your passport application denied due to seriously delinquent tax debt, it’s important to move forward carefully. The wrong move could delay the certification reversal process (aka decertification), put you at risk of getting your passport revoked, or expose you to enforced collection actions such as seizure of your assets.

A tax attorney can help you resolve the issue in the most strategic way possible, whether that’s setting up payments, getting a settlement, or applying for other relief options. They can also help you stop active levies, file suit if the certification is incorrect, and respond to Letter 6152 about passport revocation. 

The team at Damiens Law is here to help you protect your passport and your financial future. If you’ve received Notice CP508C or any other communication from the IRS regarding action taken against you, let’s talk. Call us at 601-873-6510 or send us a message online. 

Curious about how we help? Then, learn more about our tax relief services.

FAQs About CP508C

Can I stop certification after I receive CP508C?

No, the tax debt has already been certified. However, you can get the IRS to reverse the certification if you prove it was done in error or you get a payment plan, settlement, or other resolution approved. 

Does Notice CP508C mean I’m losing my passport?

Not yet. You won’t be able to renew your passport when it expires, but you can continue to use it for now. However, if the IRS sends a revocation notice, then you’ve only got 30 days to respond before the State Department takes away your existing passport.

How can I check on my passport if I owe a lot of tax debt?

If you’re worried that you may be over the seriously delinquent threshold or may have missed the CP508C notice, sign into your IRS account. Then, check how much you owe, and look for the notices that have been sent. Alternatively, have a tax attorney pull a transcript and figure out what’s going on. You can aso reach out to the National Passport Information Center for more information about U.S. passports and their validity. 

Why didn’t I receive Notice CP508C?

It’s possible to miss this notice, especially if you’ve recently moved. The IRS sends it by regular mail to your last known address, meaning it doesn’t require a signature and can get lost easily. Additionally, the IRS only sends this letter directly to taxpayers. It doesn’t send a copy to your power of attorney. 

What if the IRS sends CP508C when I’m out of the country?

Then, you should contact a tax attorney to help you resolve your tax debt before the IRS decides to revoke the passport. If the agency takes away your passport while you’re out of the country, the U.S. State Department will issue a limited-validity passport to let you re-enter the United States, or they will limit your current passport so it can only be used for return travel.

What if you default on a payment plan after the IRS reverses the passport certification to the State Department?

Then, the IRS will escalate to passport revocation. They will certify your tax debt as soon as you default and then move forward with the revocation process. 

Sources: 

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/revocation-or-denial-of-passport-in-cases-of-certain-unpaid-taxes
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp508c-notice