News person photograph blue brand hand
News

Pay Your Taxes or Lose Your Passport

Here's another reason to pay your taxes on time...

See recent posts by April Ellis

This past September, the Department of Homeland Security declared you can no longer fly in the U.S. without a passport in these four states. Now there’s this news: According to a Wall Street Journal report, Congress is planning to pass a new law that could deny or retract passports from Americans who haven’t paid their taxes, raising roughly $398 million over 10 years.

The good news: The law, which is expected to take effect in January, will only punish those with "seriously delinquent" debt — we’re talking a $50,000 minimum of unpaid federal taxes.

The bad news: If you’re a U.S. citizen living abroad and don’t receive IRS mail (or if you live here but never open your mail box), you could be in trouble.

The exception: Those who are traveling for humanitarian reasons, are on an IRS payment plan, or are contesting a tax case in court don’t need to worry.

Bottom line: Pay your taxes, and save yourself the headache.

Comments

comments

All products are independently selected by our writers and editors. If you buy something through our links, Jetsetter may earn an affiliate commission.