Reminder: You Still Owe Taxes (and Your Passport Could Be at Risk)

Why you might get this

• You still have an unpaid balance on one of your tax accounts.
• The IRS hasn't received full payment for the amount you owe.
• Your balance may be large enough that the IRS wants to warn you about possible passport consequences.
• You may not have set up or completed a payment plan yet.

The deadline

This notice asks you to take care of your unpaid balance promptly. There is no single fixed deadline printed as a legal cutoff, but interest and penalties keep adding up until you pay in full, so acting soon costs you less. If you recently paid, note that payments can take up to 21 days to show on your account.

This notice doesn't carry a fixed response deadline, but it still deserves attention — see what to do below.

What to do

1. Sign in to your IRS online account to check exactly how much you owe.
2. Pay online for fast, secure, and instantly confirmed payment.
3. If you can't pay online, mail your payment in the envelope provided and include the bottom part of the notice.
4. Pay as much as you can now, even if you can't pay it all, to slow down interest and penalties.
5. Set up a payment plan online through the Online Payment Agreement tool if you need more time.
6. Check the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier Tool to see if you can settle for less than the full amount.
7. If you're facing financial hardship, ask the IRS about temporarily delaying collection.
8. If you disagree, call the toll-free number on your notice and have your paperwork ready.
9. If you already paid in full within the last 21 days, you can disregard this notice.

What happens if you ignore it

Interest keeps growing and more penalties may be added. The IRS may take your future tax refunds and apply them to what you owe. If your debt becomes "seriously delinquent," the U.S. State Department may deny, refuse to renew, or revoke your passport.

Ignoring this can lead to your refunds being taken and, for large debts, passport problems. If you can't pay or you disagree, reach out for help — a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic or the Taxpayer Advocate Service may be able to assist you.

What the CP71 Notice Means

If you got a CP71 notice, the IRS is reminding you that you still owe tax on one of your accounts. It's not a brand-new bill — it's a heads-up that the balance is still there and needs your attention.

The notice also explains something important: if your tax debt grows large enough to be called "seriously delinquent," the U.S. State Department can deny, refuse to renew, or even revoke your passport.

The good news is you have options. You can pay the full amount online, mail a payment, or set up a payment plan to spread the cost over time. If money is tight, you may qualify to temporarily pause collection or to settle for less than the full amount through an Offer in Compromise.

Keep in mind that interest and penalties keep adding up until you pay in full, so acting sooner saves you money. If you already paid within the last 21 days, your payment may just be catching up.

If you disagree, call the number on your notice with your paperwork ready. And if you'd rather not keep track of all this alone, Solace can watch your IRS account and let you know when things change.