Aretha Franklin’s Estate Comes To Agreement With IRS On Singer’s $7.8 Million Tax Debt

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin’s Estate Comes To Agreement With IRS On Singer’s $7.8 Million Tax Debt

Aretha Franklin’s estate has reached a settlement agreement over the late legendary singer’s $7.8 million tax debt.

The IRS previously alleged the singer owed the vast amount in unpaid taxes and penalties that racked up from 2010-2017.

The entity and Aretha Franklin’s four sons, who haven’t been able to access money from her estate thanks to her IRS debt, have now come to an agreement.

While the sons have yet to confirm that Aretha Franklin owed nearly $8 million, they asked for an agreement with the IRS where they would pay $800,000 right away. They had already made smaller payments that chipped away at the total amount owed, and the remaining balance was $4.75 million as of December 2020.

Aretha Franklin

The petition, filed on Feb. 19, says the IRS bill will be settled “by agreement or litigation.”

Until the tax debt is completely paid, the singer’s earnings will be equally distributed, including revenue from royalties, licensing agreements, and other funds. It will be backdated to Jan. 1, 2021.

The petition requests for 45% of the revenue to help pay off the IRS, and the other 40% will be deposited into an escrow account for future taxes on the new income. After that, 15% will go toward managing the estate. On top of that, Aretha Franklin’s sons will get $50,000 each right away, and potentially a quarterly payment as well.

Judge Jennifer Callaghan still has to sign off on the proposal.

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