Amber Portwood is in trouble again– but this time, it’s Uncle Sam who has a bone to pick with the Teen Mom OG star.
Radar Online broke the news this morning that Amber is in serious debt to the Internal Revenue Service. The site reported that there’s a federal tax lien on Amber, who owes the IRS more than $130,000!
The Ashley investigated and can confirm that Radar‘s story is, indeed, true. In February, the IRS put a tax lien against Amber, stating that the reality star owes the government a ton of money in unpaid taxes– $134,919.21 to be exact!
A representative of the Madison County Recorder’s Office in Indiana tells The Ashley that the tax debt is not a property tax debt.
“This is most likely for income tax, or for instance, if someone was paid under the table and didn’t claim that income on their taxes, or something along those lines,” the rep told The Ashley.
Since Amber is not currently employed, it’s likely that Amber’s debt is related to her ‘Teen Mom OG’ earnings, which is her only known source of income at the time that would fall into this category. The county rep also confirmed to The Ashley that the debt has not yet been paid and released.
By now, Amber has been sent notifications to advise her of what she owes the IRS, but she has not paid the debt.
Amber’s not the first girl from the ‘Teen Mom’ franchise to get in trouble with the IRS over her MTV earnings. In 2013 and 2014, Maci Bookout was hit with two tax liens that totaled over $83,000. She finally paid off her debt in December 2015, according to reports.
Teen Mom 2 star Kail Lowry also found herself in hot water with the IRS back in 2013. Kail was forced to postpone her wedding to Javi Marroquin in order to pay off the thousands she owed in back taxes.
The Ashley discussed this problem with one of her show sources, who tells her that the girls are all considered “independent contractors” and not employees of Viacom (which owns MTV). That means that the girls are essentially freelancers, just like a writer or an artist would be, and that no taxes are taken out of their MTV paychecks.
Basically, the girls are given a big lump sum at various times during the season, and it is their responsibility to save the appropriate portion of that sum to pay quarterly taxes and avoid getting stuck with a huge tax debt at the end of the year.
Obviously, we know that the ‘Teen Mom’ casts make big bucks, so if they are not being proactive in paying their taxes (or paying off big sums at the end of the tax season), they will likely run into problems with the IRS.
Amber has not yet responded to the story, but The Ashley will update this when she gets more information.
(Photos: MTV)
40 Responses
Not a fan of Amber by any means.
Sorry to hear about your father my condolences.
It wouldn’t surprise me if she ended up in jail again
She looks like she’s gaining the weight she lost
She does yes
How is it that you don’t pay taxes? Isn’t that finances 101? Did she not think she needs to pay taxes like everyone else needs to? No one can be that ignorant, oops well maybe considering her choices in men maybe she feels exempt from that rule. Did she enjoy prison that much? Well next seasons cashola is going to the IRS then it will be curious if LT Lurker aka pervball Matt hangs around..just sayin..or maybe she won’t give a *uck..you can run but you can’t hide from the tax man.
I cannot get over how dumb these people are. Don’t they have “parents” to guide them?
Have you seen ambers mom???
She’s not all there ( lights are on but there’s nobody home )
Oh god come on!! This is so avoidable!! And if ya think it ain’t gunna catch up with ya, ya fuckin DUMB. Pay your taxes Amber!! Its not like you actually “worked” for that money *insert side-eye* that money goes to house and feed all ya homies in da Pen!!
Can’t pay her taxes, yet colours her hair all the time, buys and flips houses, flights to Florida, all these animals and their puppies, paying matts lifestyle too.
Yet can’t or won’t pay her tax
Maybe boo boo can pay it for her. If she would ever get up off of the couch with a blanket on and get busy, she would not be in this mess. Amber grow up.
Is it also possible that she didn’t pay taxes the earnings from flipping houses?
They need to do what the NFL is doing now. They are getting paid the same way but as part getting their checks now the have to take money management classes and have proof that they have a financial adviser to over look their funds. But, when you give kids that young that much money this is going to happen. Where are the parents in this? If I got that much money my mom would be always hounding me to put money away and make sure that I pay my taxes and I am 31.
I am surprised that Maci got into this she comes from a well to do family so they would be aware of all of that. Knowing how Maci is she just probably didn’t listen. But, she won’t go for broke over this. She can agree to set up a payment plan over a period of time like Maci did and she is not suffering at all now and never seemed to at all.
Matt will be hitting the road soon cause if she has to pay that will be threatening his free ride.
The parents are the same place they were when these girls got pregnant at 16!
I’m legitimately surprised this isin’t about Jenelle…she’s the one you’d figure would not be the one paying taxes
Right? That’s exactly what I thought.
Way to be shady MTV, paying them as freelancers…pitiful
Lol what they are paid as contractors – just like millions of us do everyday. But unlike these dumbasses, we actually prepare ahead of time, claim our 1099s on our taxes and pay up. This isn’t some new pay system that MTV solely does. What a stupid comment.
There is nothing shady about it and there is a difference between freelancing and contracting. This is the way contractors are paid. It’s not MTVs fault that someone doesn’t understand taxes (or chooses to ignore it).
This is definitely one of the dumbest comments I’ve seen lately. Clearly you have no idea how the world actually works. There is nothing shady about this. People get paid as independent contractors all the time, especially in the entertainment business, and yet they still manage to pay their taxes every year.
Girl makes enough to owe the IRS 130k but doesn’t pay child support. Nice going, Ambie.
She should call Ronnie Duestch – she can solve your IRS tax problems for $20.
But in all seriousness – why would you mess with the IRS? They are the ones that got Capone – it wasn’t the murder, mayhem, and bootlegging, it was the tax evasion that got him thrown in the slammer.
Pay your taxes!
right? The government will ALWAYS get their money.
Right – pretty sure they’re the only ones that can go IN your bank account and just take it – whether you approve or not!!
Shocked, stunned, and totally drop-jawed and dumbfounded beyond belief.
Said no one ever.
130 grand?! JEEZE!!! hopefully she has some money saved up…Matts gonna dump her butt in 3….2….
I’m sure she has nothing in savings, just like Jenelle. They both owe on their cars and they rent their houses. I don’t know how you pull in a salary like that and have a negative net worth.
How would you have any idea if she has a negative net worth or not?
…Because she has no assets, likely owes on her car, and is now at least 130k in debt. If she has a positive net worth (and I’d bet my life that she doesn’t) then she better start using it to pay her taxes and child support for her daughter and stop being a selfish leech on society.
When it would only be that easy to get that creep out of her life…
Best get proper jobs then eh girls!
Maybe the taxes should be taken from their check before they get paid
I just don’t get it. Don’t ANY of these fools have any common sense?? It’s really not that hard to put some money off to the side from a MULTIPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND dollar paycheck for taxes. I mean they’ve been at this for 7 years now. They should have gotten the idea by now that they have to pay taxes, right? Fucking morons. So glad that our society works this way, the biggest morons get the biggest paychecks UGH.
These girls are so irresponsible. Smh.
I’m pretty sure Kailyn originally planned to postpone the wedding, but then MTV decided to do a new season so she was able to keep the original date. Gotta love that MTV money.
So Kailin and Javi were really broke back then? Were the heck did all the money from previous seasons go to?
She lived rent free at Jo’s and then had rent assistance for crying out loud.
I wouldn’t say “Broke” but their wedding was really expensive.
Wasn’t she being investigated for getting assistance while pulling in a decent paycheck from MTV?
oh brother, see ya Matt …
Matt will not leave. There’s more MTV money coming his and her way. After that she can make money selling shit like the others do. Or do a porn.
She is not nearly financially drained by him yet.
The only way to get him out before she goes bankrupt is for her to have his baby, he’ll disappear into thin air within months.