I live in the USA.?
Assuming that you are you are a US citizen and want to renew your US passport, I doubt there is anything thats going to stop you from doing so unless the internal revenue service has filed paperwork with the state department. I assume that paperwork would be a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. However, there are times when you might owe the IRS money but the IRS hasnt noticed yet. I had that happen prior to my divorce. The crap did not hit the fan until we went to get copies of our 1040s and I discovered that my ex-wife had not filed them. Technically, we owed the IRS close to $100,000 but they didnt know it. so, it all depends on the specific situation you find yourself in. By the way, this is a really bad place to get tax advice or legal advice. If you actually find yourself in the situation described, I would suggest consulting an attorney, preferably a tax attorney.