Melissa Gilbert Has A Little Tax Trouble In The Big City — She’s Facing $360K In Debt To Feds


Laura Ingalls Wilder (a.k.a Melissa Gilbert) has had a bit of trouble paying her taxes over the past couple years. In addition to owing over $100 grand to California, she now has an outstanding $360,000 bill with the federal government.

And Melissa promises to pay it all back.

Gilbert and her husband, Timothy Busfield, are pointing the blame at the economy, finding something in common with the financial difficulties normal people have faced since the Recession, the Detroit News reported.

“Like so many people across the nation, the recession hit me hard. That, plus a divorce and a dearth of acting opportunities the last few years, created a perfect storm of financial difficulty for me.”

Gilbert hasn’t been completely out of work. She wrote My Prairie Cookbook for picky children, like her son, appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2012, and recently got a spot on ABC’s Secrets and Lies, CBS News and New York Daily News reported.

But the taxes still piled up. Over $360,000 is now owed to the federal government, covering 2011 to 2013. During that time, Gilbert did file from divorce from husband Bruce Boxleitner, an event that marked the beginning of her tax troubles. Since 2013, Melissa also had a tax lien filed by the state of California on all of her property.

“I’ve set up an installment plan to fully pay off my debt and will continue to work as hard as I can to erase this debt and dig myself out of this hole. I am absolutely positive that I can do it.”

Around the same time, Gilbert and her family are planning a move from a pretty nice, 2,000-square-foot Victorian in Howell, Michigan, to a log house in Livingston County. Melissa, her husband, and two young sons have lived there since 2013, where they apparently are pretty popular and are known for being very kind to neighbors.

Melissa’s husband said the tax woes and move are not related.

“(The debt) has more to do with the housing crash and divorce in the past. It’s unfortunate and it’s been happening a lot. It’s not a big deal.”

[Photo Courtesy Rob Kim/Getty Images]

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