IRS will deny or revoke Passports for tax debt.

The purpose of the mediation is to resolve disputes in the early stages of the collection process and within 40 days after the mediation application is accepted by the IRS.  In order to be accepted into the process, taxpayers must make a good faith effort to resolve matters with the IRS collection officer followed by a conference with the officer's manager.  Acceptance into the mediation process does not mean that taxpayers can't pursue other options if mediation doesn't resolve their case.  

For some the only hope of relief from unmanageable federal tax debts may be the statute of limitations on collection. In theory, the IRS has only 10 years from the date of assessment to collect. However, this 10-year limitation has many exceptions, waivers and overlapping extensions such that in all but the simplest of cases computing the correct “collection statute expiration date” is quite difficult.