Nic Cage -- Acting His Way Out of Tax Debt!

Nicolas Cage continues to chip away at his massive tax debt ... one sequel / three-quel at a time ... 'cause the actor paid off another tax lien, to the tune of $600k!!!

TMZ broke the story ... Cage was hit with a federal tax lien back in 2011 ... for $624,934.64. Seems he forgot to pay taxes on some really expenses gifts he gave out between 2004-2009.

According to the IRS all that's behind him now ... Cage is now paid in full, making him a super-duper-tax-lien-payer-offer ... considering last April he paid off another lien for $6 million. But Nick isn't out of the woods ... he still owes roughly $6 mil to Uncle Sam, but every little bit helps.

Apparently those new (old) roles ... i.e. "Kick-Ass 2", "Ghost Rider 2", "National Treasure 3" and now "Ghost Rider 3" are really paying off.

We're kidding ... "Ghost Rider 3" isn't real. Yet.