Despite financial deals like her bestselling memoir and upcoming biopic, Britney Spears allegedly owes a 6-figure debt.
She’s disputing the tax bill in court. But reports say that it’s only the tip of the iceberg on her finances.
Is this a sign that she’s out of control?
Or is this yet another instance of Britney’s family scheming to take over her life?
Does she actually owe six figures?
Last September, Britney Spears received an IRS notice that she allegedly owes additional taxes and penalties from 2021.
(Notably, her conservatorship ended late that year)
The sum totals over $721,000 — around $600,000 in income taxes, and another $120,000 or so in fees.
This is a tremendous amount.
However, adjusted for Britney’s historic wealth, it’s the equivalent of a middle class American getting a tax bill in the hundreds.
To be clear, Britney is disputing the claim that she owes this amount.
She is seeking a redetermination of the notice.
This sort of thing happens all of the time — just not normally on this scale, and not normally to someone so famous.
Presumably, Britney has a team of attorneys and accountants who can prove her case — or at least argue it.
It is possible that the transition period in which she regained personal and financial control was a factor if an error did occur. Perhaps the details will become apparent in court.
It sure sounds like her family’s trying to twist this to turn public opinion against her
To no one’s surprise, RadarOnline reports that Britney’s family is hoping to use this to stoke fears about the singer’s mental stability — and to threaten her legal autonomy.
“People around Britney are seriously alarmed because this isn’t just about one tax bill or a bad month,” an alleged insider claimed.
“The money has been flying out the door for a long time,” the source claimed, “and it’s finally catching up with her.”
According to the insider: “But when anyone tries to talk sense to her about her spending, she brushes them off.”
The source claimed that Britney “acts like they’re crazy to worry that she’ll ever run out of cash.”
“She insists on living like she’s still on top of the world,” the insider then griped.
The source complained that Britney’s generosity includes “footing the bill for all her so-called friends who never seem to leave.”
Without presenting evidence, the insider claimed: “She’s pulled millions from pension and savings accounts, borrowed against the house, and piled up debts that still haven’t been settled.”
The source then claimed: “Unless something changes fast, she really could burn through everything she has left and lose her house.”
Short of multibillionaires (whose fortunes often replenish faster than they can spend money, because our financial system is a broken nightmare), it is true that anyone could theoretically spend tens of millions of dollars and accidentally become penniless.
So yes, in theory, she COULD one day go broke
But let’s be so real for a moment, because several things are true.
First, we don’t actually know what Britney’s spending or financials are like. She likes high-end vacations but that tells us very little, especially with money from her book and biopic flowing in.
Second, Britney’s finances aren’t on par with other pop superstars. She spent the majority of her adult life under a conservatorship that controlled her personal and financial decisions. So it’s not like her 8-figure fortune isn’t 9-figures because she messed up, or something.
And third, the most important of all, is that her money isn’t really our business? Like, sure, she’s a public figure, but our understandable curiosity doesn’t really mean anything. She’s allowed to spend as much or as little as she likes.
Ultimately, every report about Britney’s alleged “unstable” behavior (which is often deliberately misleading, as we have reported) feels like an attempt by her more unscrupulous relatives to regain control of her finances and her life.