“One more thing: Even though your Social Security card is not required by the passport application, it does ask for your Social Security number. (According to Passport Services, the Internal Revenue Service receives notification of those who decline to produce a Social Security card or number. They can be fined up to $500 for failure to provide this information, so remember to take your card along.)”
So if i decline to provide my social secuirty number to Passport services(which since i can choose not to i assume is within my rights),the IRS will fine me $500 dollars?!
Well, the key is the “can” and “will”. You “can” be fined $500 - that doesn’t mean you WILL be fined.
I assume that the IRS is looking for tax cheats trying to travel. Remember that they got Al Capone on taxes. That will get you a lot of mileage in the enforcement world.
If you are not cheating on your taxes, you should be fine. You give Passport Services your name but no SSN, the IRS gets notified and runs your name through their deadbeat list, nothing comes up and you are on your way.
If the passport does not require an SSN, then a separate government agency cannot fine you for not providing it.
If someone has some actual experience with this, please pipe up!
Corbomite: Wouldn’t it be funny if one of those countries in which US citizens reside passed a law prohibiting the local & national governments there from providing income information to a foreign agency?
Monty - I’d never heard of the law effac3d OP’d on. I googled for some pages that basically said what pilot141 said (sans the Al Capone ref). One page said the IRS has not fined anyone yet. BTW, the fine is $50 a year ($500 for a 10 year passport).
I’m suprised that the IRS really does expect a tax return and funds from citizens living overseas - any more than corporations like Tyco (TYC) that are ostensibly HQ’d in Bermuda pay the US corporate taxes.
I live overseas, and have for many years. Neither of my countries of residence (Panama and Saudi Arabia) co-operates with American tax officials. My accounts are completely private.
That being said, I still file. If I have an income of over USD70K, I have to pay US tax (less any local taxes paid). In my case at least it is pretty well on the honor system.
Corbomite: It’s obviously in the US citizens best interests to comply with the law if he ever intends to return to the country. For example, having filed one’s current income tax return (if one’s income is of sufficient level to require that) is required as part of the financial aid runaround…er, application.
I’m glad I read this thread! I’m living in the UK and I’ll need to renew my US passport next year. I still fill out the IRS forms even though I have no US income and fall within the $80k limit. I even got a refund check for $4.00 this year for some strange reason.
