360,000+ Americans with tax debt may be denied passports (Source RT) Hundreds of thousands of US citizens may have to scrap their holiday plans, the Internal Revenue Service said, as it is enforcing a law allowing authorities to revoke and deny passports to those owing over $51,000 in unpaid taxes. Some 362,000 people may fall under the scope of the 2015 law as early as the end of this year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing an IRS spokesperson.

The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which became a law in December 2015, allows the State Department and the IRS to refuse to issue passports to those with “seriously delinquent” debts that are defined as “an unpaid, legally enforceable federal tax liability” of more than $51,000, including interest and penalties. That rule envisions denying first-time passport applications, as well as the renewal of the travel document. In a worst-case scenario, a valid passport can be revoked by the State Department.

However, an IRS representative told the publication in June that the authorities have not gone that far as of yet and, for now, they have contented themselves with simply denying applications. It’s not known how many tax debtors have already seen their travel plans ruined, with the State Department saying that it has already denied some applications. The IRS, meanwhile, said that the process of alerting the State Department about individuals with outstanding debts is in full swing and should be completed by the end of the year.