Chris Tucker could lose his pirate mansion

Chris Tucker could lose his Florida mansion - including his pirate ship basement. Photo / Supplied

Chris Tucker's Florida mansion comes complete with a pirate ship-themed basement - but he could lose it all with $4.4 million owed to the bank.

The actor-and-comedian - who was paid $20 million for each film he starred in for the Rush Hour franchise - is believed to owe $11.5 million to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after failing to pay taxes in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Now papers have been filed in Circuit Court in Lake County claiming he owes millions to the bank after buying the $6 million home on Lake Apopka, near Orlando, in 2007, according to the Orlando Sentinal.

The palatial home contains five bedrooms, three fireplaces, a personal spa, an outdoor kitchen overlooking a pool, and a basement resembling a pirate ship, complete with a sail and the actor was paying a monthly mortgage of $25,812.50.

Chris is not the first celebrity to fall foul of the US tax system.

In 2007, Marc Anthony was ordered to pay $2.5 million in back taxes, after he failed to file returns from 2000 to 2004 - a period when he is believed to have earned $15.5 million.

Similarly, National Treasure actor Nicolas Cage was forced to sell off many of his assets - including properties, yachts and a 67-million-year-old dinosaur skull worth $276,000 - after being hit with a $6.3 million tax bill in 2009.

Last year, Wesley Snipes lost his appeal against a three-year jail sentence for wilfully failing to file federal income tax returns in April 2008.

- BANG! Showbiz