One Direction have reportedly been handed a £24.7million tax bill two years after they went on hiatus.

According to The Sun, the British and Irish group have appealed the bill, which is said to be one of the biggest debts in pop history.

In 2016, the publication reported that the group, made up of Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne, were facing an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs over a controversial 'alphabeat scheme'.

Reports: One Direction have reportedly been handed a £24.7million tax bill two years after they went on hiatus

A source said: 'Their firm decided to use an alphabet scheme for the hundreds of millions of pounds they earned. It means shares are grouped into categories — such as A to J — and allows profits to be paid in the form of dividends at different rates.

'However, while legal, HMRC inspectors have since decided to crack down and target them as potential measures of avoiding tax.

'Because dividends are not subject to National Insurance contributions like wages, they have less tax deducted from them than is taken off salaries. It means One Direction could now be set to pay back a huge sum to the taxman.'

The four-piece made a whopping £63million before tax, while their company made profits of £30.6million.

Claims: According to The Sun, the British and Irish group - made up of Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne - have appealed the bill, which is said to be one of the biggest debts in pop history

MailOnline have contacted a representative for One Direction.

However, the foursome resigned as directors of 1D Media in April 2016 and cashed in 10 of their firm's shares each to make a tasty £14million each.

Although they have received the bill, there is no suggestion they nor former band member Zayn Malik have engaged in tax evasion, which is illegal.

The Sun previously reported that the band had set-up the share classes following Zayn's departure, to 'differentiate his right to receive income.'

Bill: Although they have received the bill, there is no suggestion they nor former band member Zayn Malik, pictured in the middle, have engaged in tax evasion, which is illegal

The reports comes after it was confirmed the star will join Lady Gaga, tennis champ Serena Williams and Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour as a co-chair of the 2019 Met Gala.

The theme of the next Met Gala will be Camp: Notes on Fashion, which has been inspired by the 1964 essay of American writer Susan Sontag, who focused her attention on the idea of camp as 'ostentatious'.

She explained: 'Camp taste has an affinity for certain arts rather than others. Clothes, furniture, all the elements of visual decor, for instance, make up a large part of Camp.'

Style: Harry's flair for fashion certainly hasn't gone unnoticed as it's been confirmed the star will join Lady Gaga, tennis champ Serena Williams and Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour as a co-chair of the 2019 Met Gala

The 2019 Met Gala will be staged at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 6.

Meanwhile, Harry became the face of Gucci earlier this year, launching his collaboration with a bizarre photoshoot in a Hertfordshire chippie with a chicken under his arm.

He was seen in a series of quirky shots by Glen Luchford as he posed in brightly coloured suits from the 2019 Cruise collection.

Gucci said of the shoot: 'The campaign playfully positions Harry Styles's personal, urban take on the Gucci tailoring wardrobe amongst the classic, stylised landscape of the gardens, where fountains, grottoes and mazes characterise the ancient surroundings.'