Todd and Julie Chrisley are facing more than $1.5 million in unpaid federal taxes, per a new IRS lien filed against the reality TV couple a little over a year after President Trump pardoned them for tax evasion and bank fraud. The lien, first reported by Page Six, covers tax years 2021 and 2022 and lands right in the middle of the couple’s post-prison comeback. Here is what the filing says, why a presidential pardon did not make it go away, and what happens next.
Todd and Julie Chrisley tax lien: quick answers
How much: $1,571,452 in unpaid federal taxes, per the lien.
Filed where and when: the IRS filed the federal tax lien in Davidson County, Tennessee, on August 19, 2026, according to records obtained by Page Six.
What it covers: two separate assessments, $142,410.72 for the tax period ending December 31, 2021, and $1,429,041.89 for the period ending December 31, 2022.
Is it new criminal trouble: no new charges have been reported. A lien is a civil claim against property, not an indictment.
Their side: Page Six says it reached out to Todd and Julie for comment and did not hear back.
What the lien actually says
The filing documents two unpaid federal tax assessments. The smaller one, $142,410.72 for tax year 2021, was assessed on December 5, 2022. The larger one, $1,429,041.89 for tax year 2022, was assessed on December 11, 2023. The 2022 assessment date matters: it lands after the couple’s fraud convictions, while they were still reporting to federal prison.
A federal tax lien is the government’s legal claim against a person’s property when a tax debt goes unpaid. It attaches to real estate, cars and financial assets, and it has to be settled or discharged before that property can be cleanly sold or refinanced.
Why Trump’s pardon did not erase the debt
Trump’s May 2025 pardon wiped out the federal criminal penalties for the couple’s bank fraud and tax evasion convictions, including their remaining prison time and supervised release. But the pardon covered the offenses they were convicted of. The newly filed lien documents separate unpaid tax assessments, and civil tax debts are a different track from criminal punishment entirely. Put simply, the pardon freed them from prison. It did not settle the bill.
The full timeline: from Chrisley Knows Best to conviction, pardon and now a lien
2017: Georgia state tax liens surface against the couple, with WSB-TV reporting they owed the state nearly $800,000 at the time.
June 2022: a federal jury convicts Todd and Julie of conspiring to defraud banks and evade federal taxes. Prosecutors said they obtained more than $36 million in fraudulent loans with falsified documents and spent it on luxury cars, designer clothes, real estate and travel.
November 2022: Todd is sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. Julie receives seven years.
January 2023: the couple reports to prison, Todd to a federal camp in Pensacola, Florida, Julie to a facility in Tallahassee.
2023 to 2024: daughter Savannah Chrisley becomes the family’s public face, lobbying for her parents’ release and becoming a fixture at Republican events, per the Daily Mail.
May 2025: Trump pardons both, telling Savannah by phone. They leave federal custody after more than two years apart.
August 19, 2026: the IRS files the $1.57 million lien in Davidson County, Tennessee.
October 2026: the lien becomes public through Page Six’s exclusive records report.
Why this lands harder than an ordinary tax story
The optics are brutal, and every outlet covering the filing has noticed: a couple pardoned for tax evasion now owes the IRS again, per the very documents in the public record. It also complicates the comeback narrative the family has been building since 2025. The Chrisleys have been pitching a redemption arc, anchored by their podcast Chrisley Confessions 2.0 and steady public appearances. A seven-figure federal lien is the kind of story that follows that arc into every interview, because it lets critics argue the underlying behavior, not just the prosecution, was the problem. Supporters will counter that the assessments date to the same years the government already prosecuted. Both readings trace to the same paper trail, which is why the lien is news on its own terms.
What this means for readers and fans
No new criminal case: a lien is civil. Nothing in the reporting suggests fresh charges, and the pardon still stands for the 2022 convictions.
Watch for a response: the couple has not commented. Their podcast, Chrisley Confessions 2.0, is the most likely place they address it first.
Expect a payment fight, not handcuffs: cases like this typically move toward negotiated settlements or payment plans with the IRS, which can take months or years to resolve.
The brand question: any new TV or podcast deal now gets negotiated against a public IRS claim, which industry watchers will read as leverage against the family.
Todd and Julie Chrisley tax lien FAQ
Do the Chrisleys still owe money after being pardoned? Yes, according to the IRS lien. The pardon erased their criminal sentences for the 2022 convictions, but the newly public filing lists $1,571,452 in unpaid federal tax assessments for 2021 and 2022.
How much do Todd and Julie Chrisley owe the IRS? $1,571,452, split between a $142,410.72 assessment for 2021 and a $1,429,041.89 assessment for 2022, per the lien reported by Page Six.
Can the Chrisleys go back to prison over this? No new charges have been reported, and a tax lien by itself is a civil collection tool, not a criminal accusation.
What did Trump pardon the Chrisleys for? Their 2022 federal convictions for bank fraud and tax evasion. The pardon, granted in May 2025, ended their prison sentences and supervised release.
