The Biggest Celebrity IRS Audits

The IRS slammed rapper Busta Rhymes, born Trevor George Smith Jr., with a two-lien tax bill totaling almost $800,000 in 2014. That bill was added to already existing tax bills he was slapped with in 2010 and 2012.

The Grammy-winning singer/rapper served three months in jail and another three in home confinement in 2013 for failing to pay taxes of $554,000 on more than $1.8 million from 2005 to 2007. She also owned about $500,000 in state and federal taxes for income not reported in 2008 and 2009. She eventually paid off the entire amount.

TMZ reported that prolific hitmaker Lionel Richie – who placed five No. 1’s on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1980s – was hit with a tax lien in 2012 for failing to pay more than $1 million in income tax in 2010. He satisfied the debt and the lien was lifted.

The “Urban Cowboy” and “Pulp Fiction” star was socked with a bill of just over $1 million in back taxes and penalties for the period from 1993 to 1995. In 2000, he negotiated a deal with the feds to satisfy his debt with a payment of $607,400.

Richard Hatch was the first winner on the television show “Survivor” in 2000, winning the $1 million prize through manipulating and playing mind games with opponents. He got in tax trouble after failing to pay tax on his “Survivor” winnings, and ended up serving 51 months in federal prison. He later served another nine months for violating the terms of his probation, which required him to amend his 2000 and 2001 returns. In addition, land he owned in Nova Scotia was seized by Canadian tax authorities because he failed to pay property taxes and eventually auctioned off.