Five Celebrities Who Owe the IRS A Lot of Money in 2016

Let’s face it, celebrities make big money and enjoy a life of privilege and pampering. While raking in all that green they may not realize it, but the tax man lurks in the background, counting every easily earned cent. For this reason, many entitled celebrities get a reality check when their tax bill catches up to their exorbitant lifestyle. Here are some of these superstars who recently got a whopping bill from the Internal Revenue Service.

Iggy Azalea

The title of a recent article in the Huffington Post says it all: “Iggy Azalea Owes The IRS A Lot Of Money” . According to multiple sources, the “Fancy” rapper bought a fancy house costing a whopping $3.4 million with fiancé Nick Young but didn’t pay Uncle Sam his due in 2014. The rap icon defended her actions via Twitter saying that the IRS is letting her pay it off in monthly installments. Defenders of the star say that her overdue taxes should not have been reported to the public, as she was going to be paying it after all.

Trey Songz

According to e-file. com, Trey Songz, a singer-rapper, had his delinquent taxes catch up to him on October 8, 2015 due to his failure to pay taxes in 2013 to the blockbusting tune of 750,000. He was quickly able to pay it off in 2015. To his credit, Mr. Songz cleaned up his enormous tax bill much faster than many celebs who drag out their payment plans for years.

Melissa Harris-Perry

Known for her rants on MSNBC about those who don’t pay enough taxes, Ms. Harris-Perry did not see that it also applied to her until in 2015 when she was presented with a $75,000 bill for unpaid taxes from 2013. The professor and political commentator say that she and her husband owe the taxes due to a personal crisis,, according to Breitbart.com. The IRS does not accept a crisis, persona or otherwise as an excuse, and she has found out that literally everyone, even celebrity journalists, need to pay their fair share. Although the 75K that Ms. Harris-Perry owes seems like a hefty sum, it is a drop in the bucket compared to her fellow MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton, who has craftily evaded paying over 3 million dollars in back taxes. The television host and activist has not been charged as of yet, but there’s always next year.

Nicholas Cage

The multi-million dollar star continues to be in debt to the IRS after years of tax troubles. He had to regretfully sell off his castle to make his princely tax payments so that he doesn’t spend time in jail, according to several sources. Mr. Cage blames his troubles on mismanagement, and that may be true as stars have a lot of taxable income to manage. Even the goody bags given out at award shows and celebrity functions are considered taxable income, although it’s not likely the $14 million he still owes comes from unearned swag income. Many stars are quick to blame their business managers for their delinquent taxes, but most of us non-celebs would never be able to sell such an excuse with an H&R Block franchise around every corner.

Teresa and Joe Giudice

According to Hollywood Life,, the Real Housewives couple have been taking turns doing time for tax evasion and fraud. The table flipping diva was just released after serving 13 months of her 15 month sentence and Joe has just begun a stiffer sentence of 40 months, and possible deportation after he is released. The judge staggered their sentences so that their young children would have one parent at home. In 2015 they were hit with a 551K tax lien on their personal property. Throughout this debacle, the New Jersey couple has been filming new episodes to try to pay back what they owe.

Getting in trouble for tax evasion used to be confined to those who lived a gangster lifestyle, like an Al Capone. Over the years, well known if not well loved celebrities like Leona Helmsley, wife of Palace Hotel magnet Harry Helmsley, proclaimed that “Only the little people pay taxes”, and was charged, convicted and sent to prison where the sheets were probably not 400 count cotton.

Country singer Willy Nelson made his years long crusade fighting the IRS front and center of his music career by releasing the “IRS Tapes” album, full of retread material and studio takes to help pay off his hefty bill.

When it comes down to it, celebrities are just like us—they just owe a whole lot more at the end of the year. Like the grim reaper, the tax man comes for us all.