Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt
Unpaid federal tax debt above an annually adjusted threshold — $66,000 for tax year 2026 — that also meets further conditions, and which can affect your passport.
Full Definition
Seriously delinquent tax debt is legally enforceable, unpaid federal tax debt, including assessed penalties and interest, totaling more than a threshold that the IRS adjusts yearly for inflation. The threshold is $66,000 for tax year 2026. The amount alone is not enough: the IRS must also have filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien with all administrative remedies lapsed or exhausted, or must have issued a levy in its efforts to collect. A number of situations are excluded from certification, including debts being timely paid under an approved installment agreement or accepted offer in compromise, debts for which a Collection Due Process hearing regarding a levy has been timely requested, accounts determined currently not collectible due to hardship, pending installment agreement or offer in compromise requests, identity-theft victims, bankruptcy, and federally declared disaster areas, among others.
What to do next
Check the current threshold and the exclusions on the IRS passport page linked in Sources before drawing any conclusion about your own debt — several common situations are excluded from certification entirely.
What this page does not say
- The threshold above comes from the IRS passport page, which carries an "AI-assisted content" banner. We have not traced the figure to the underlying inflation-adjustment revenue procedure, so treat it as the IRS's published number rather than as independently verified.
Sources
- Revocation or denial of passport in cases of certain unpaid taxes — Internal Revenue Service, retrieved 2026-08-18
Last reviewed 2026-08-20 by Tax Resolution Clarity editorial.
Sourced to primary IRS materials and editorially reviewed. Not reviewed by a tax professional. Not tax advice.
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Where to go next
The IRS publishes the rules this page describes. Your own notice governs your dates.