The Estate of Aretha Franklin has cleared its $8 million debt to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
In 2018, the estate, which owed $6.3 million, announced that at least half of the debt had been paid. However, the IRS released a statement declaring that “no part of this debt has been paid, and it is now due and payable to the United State Treasury at the Office of the Internal Revenue Service.” The $8 million debt also included interests and penalties amassed from 2010 – 2017.
The singer passed away in August 2018 from pancreatic cancer. She is survived by her four sons, Clarence, Edward, Teddy, and Kecalf, who have been embroiled in a slew of legal battles since her death. Last April, the estate struck a deal with the IRS in April 2021, agreeing on a payoff schedule.
The debt was finally paid off on June 17.
The deal called for 45% of quarterly revenue to go toward the existing IRS balance. Forty percent of the revenue would be re-routed to an escrow account to manage future taxes on the accrued income.
The remaining 15% of the revenue would be used for managing the estate.
The agreement also set up immediate quarterly $50,000 payments to each of Franklin’s four sons. All new funds will not be distributed evenly among all four of her sons.
They will now be responsible for paying taxes from this point on.
At the time of her death, Franklin’s death was estimated at $80 million.
