Celebrity Tax Problems Floyd Mayweather

Floyd "Money" Mayweather says he can't pay off his 2015 tax liability until after he gets paid from his Aug. 26 fight against Conor McGregor. (Sounds really ridiculous, but it's true.)

The boxer filed a Tax Court petition on July 5 that asks the IRS to allow him a reprieve until the fight. 

"Although the taxpayer has substantial assets, those assets are restricted and primarily illiquid," the petition said, according to the legal website Law360. "The taxpayer has a significant liquidity event scheduled in about 60 days from which he intends to pay the balance of the 2015 tax liability due and outstanding." (Meanwhile, most people with tax problems viewing said "liquidity event" are facing garnishments of their minimum wage paychecks!)

The petition also asks to reduce the penalty Mayweather received from not paying all of his taxes for the year. 

It is not known how much money Mayweather owes, but the IRS had previously argued that Mayweather had the resources to pay it immediately, even if it meant selling assets, property or taking out a loan, according to Law360. (The IRS probably has a valid point here.)

Mayweather made about $220 million from his fight with Manny Pacquiao on May 2, 2015. He is expected to make a similar amount for the McGregor fight.

The IRS Failure-To-Pay penalty is typically 0.5 percent of the owed taxes for each month. Mayweather's 2015 taxes are currently 15 months past due, which would equal a 7.5 percent charge on top of what is owed. (Watch out for that left hook!)

In an interview with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith in 2015, Mayweather showed Smith his Las Vegas home garage with seven cars that he said were worth "close to $15 million." Mayweather told Smith that he owned the cars but did not drive them. 

The upcoming fight with McGregor could collect as much as $500 million and break all previous pay-per-view records for a boxing fight. Mayweather has repeatedly said he is the ‘A-side’ of the fight and should earn significantly more as a result. (Let's hope so. The 'B-side' is likely a pittance.)

Mayweather has earned about $700 million in his 49-fight career, according to a Forbes magazine estimate and previously settled a $6.17 million lien from his 2007 tax return. He used the money he made from fighting Juan Manuel Marquez in 2009 to pay off the debt.