The front of the main house at Neverland Ranch is seen July 2 in Los Olivos, Calif. Before Michael Jackson creditors and heirs get their cut of his empire, the government will get its share through the federal estate tax. And if reports of his net worth pan out, the IRS bill could top 0 million or more.

New York ? The Tax Man is in the mirror for the estate of the late King of Pop.

Creditors and heirs of Michael Jackson hoping for a cut of his musical empire will have to line up with the Internal Revenue Service, which could lay claim to $80 million or more in federal estate taxes.

To settle his tax bill, the executors of his estate may have to sell or borrow against lucrative but hard-to-value assets or ask the IRS for a multi-year extension. That could allow the estate to pay the tab over time with earnings from Jackson’s share in rights to songs by the Beatles and his own music — prized properties whose value will likely make the estate’s tax bill only bigger.

“The government is not going to take a Beatles record as payment. They want to be paid in cash,” said Roy Kozupsky, a veteran estate lawyer in New York who has worked on behalf of several wealthy clients.

Given the convoluted nature of Jackson’s finances, coming up with the cash won’t be easy. Technically, the tax bill is due nine months after the date of death. In special cases, estates can spread out the payments for a period of up to 14 years. Once paid, the tax bill could dramatically shrink the inheritance passed on to the pop star’s heirs — his 79-year-old mother and three children.

“It’s going to mean less money going to the beneficiaries,” said Lawrence Heller, a partner in the tax and estate practice of the law firm Bryan Cave in Santa Monica, Calif. “They’re the ones that are going to suffer.”

The estate’s tax dilemma highlights the cost and complexity of dying wealthy in America. Ironically, had Jackson died six months later, his estate may have had to pay no estate tax at all.

Under current law, the estate tax is set to be lifted for one year starting Jan. 1, 2010. However, most experts expect Congress to overturn the one-year suspension before the end of 2009, meaning the estate tax would remain in place.

Established in the early 1900s, the so-called “death tax” assesses up to a 45 percent tax on individual estates worth more than $3.5 million.

As in a bankruptcy case, Jackson’s creditors will jockey for first crack at his fortune. But the estate’s initial obligation will be to pay the late star’s taxes, said Beth Kaufman, a Washington-based attorney specializing in estate tax issues.

“There is no question that the U.S. government has first priority,” she said.

To calculate the amount owed, subtract an estate’s debts from its assets and set aside 45 percent of what’s left for the IRS. The first $3.5 million is exempt. The IRS also allows unlimited, tax-free transfers of assets to a spouse and charities, as well as deductions for funeral expenses, attorneys’ fees and other administrative costs.

The current value of Jackson’s estate isn’t known, making it impossible to know how much he’ll owe in federal estate tax.

Meanwhile, a guardianship hearing for Jackson’s three children has been delayed for a week to give the singer’s mother and ex-wife time to reach an agreement, an attorney said Friday.

For the second time, Katherine Jackson and Deborah Rowe joined to seek a delay in a hearing that could decide who gets custody of the pop superstar’s children.

Katherine Jackson will remain the temporary guardian of her son’s three children, who range in ages from 7 to 12.

Court records show a judge granted the delay Friday afternoon.

The hearing had been scheduled for Monday morning, and could have presented a showdown between Katherine Jackson and Rowe, who was married to the pop singer from 1996 to 1999.