Will Smith Recalls Selling Everything He Owned After Not Paying Taxes

Will Smith will tell ya ... even fame can't spare you from the taxman's grip, as he found out the hard way -- in fact, he says it cost him everything he owned back in his Philly days.

The actor spilled the beans on the "7PM in Brooklyn" podcast -- reminiscing about the late '80s, when he snagged his first Grammy for Best Rap Performance with "Parents Just Don't Understand." But, right at that high point, he also got a not-so-friendly notice from the IRS.

Will reflected, "I was, like, 'the IRS gets money from everybody, they don't need mine' -- but they felt differently. So I didn't pay taxes for two years and winning a Grammy and all that…so they just thought they should take my stuff."

The Oscar winner said he was forced to sell everything in Philly before going out to L.A. -- leaving him "broke, broke."

You can tell the "Bad Boys" duo's been pounding the pavement, doing interview after interview to promote their new flick ... because Will's now recycling stories.

He first talked about his tax drama back in 2018, and apparently his "everything must go" sale wasn't enough to get him out of the red, because he said he also had to cut back on splurging on fancy cars and designer threads.