First ‘Survivor’ winner Richard Hatch owes $3.3M on winnings, judge says

Richard Hatch, the winner of the first season of “Survivor,” must pay taxes on his winnings that he’s been disputing since the show’s conclusion in 2000.

But, his sister won’t have to give up two houses in the process.

A Rhode Island judge issued the final judgment that Hatch must pay taxes on the $1 million he won on the show. With taxes and interest, that tax debt has ballooned to $3.3 million as Hatch has continued to challenge the tax debt in court.

Judge John J. McConnell Jr. paved the way for the IRS to collect. But the decision came after another judge said the IRS could not try to collect the money by levying two houses under the name of Hatch’s sister. The government argued he had actually transferred those to her and so they should be fair game.

In a statement to Realtor.com®, Hatch said he is appealing to the Boston-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit.

“I am confident that the appellate court’s review of the full record, including evidence that was not adequately addressed below, will result in a just outcome,” Hatch said. “I have spent 25 years trying to do the right thing in a complicated situation, and I remain committed to resolving this matter fairly.”

How long has Hatch been battling the IRS?

Hatch’s longstanding dispute with the IRS began shortly after the series’ first season wrapped in 2000.

Court records show the IRS accused Hatch of not paying tax on the $1 million in prize money he received, in addition to a car he won on the show. He also did not report taxes on some other work, including compensation for co-hosting a radio show, the IRS said.

Hatch was indicted on felony tax evasion charges and fraud, but a jury found him guilty only of filing false personal income tax returns in 2006.

In legal filings, he told the court he believed the taxes on the winnings should be paid by either CBS or the show’s production company. But years of litigation in the district court has resulted in several rulings against him.

The government renewed its attempt to collect the tax in 2022, and tried to place tax liens on two Newport, RI, properties under the name of Hatch’s sister. It argued that he’d transferred them to her and thus it should be able to levy the two houses to pay down his tax debt.

But a different judge denied that request because the government didn’t prove Hatch had any remaining interest in the houses. And his sister prevailed on an argument that the 2003 and 2005 property transfers were time-barred.

McConnell said this month that Hatch couldn’t challenge the government’s refusal to renew his passport in court, because the IRS labeled him a “seriously delinquent taxpayer.”

And in a final order dated March 18, McConnell said there were no outstanding issues to litigate from the government’s effort to reduce the tax assessments to judgment.

CBS is airing “Survivor 50,” which features several winners from previous years, though Hatch isn’t a contestant.