by KYW's Amy Feldman
Man, you should have seen the joy on the face of the guy who came within $144 of guessing the actual retail price of his showcase on the Price is Right and wound up with prizes worth over $49,000. One can only imagine his expression when he was simultaneously handed the keys to his new minivan and the tax form, telling him that he would soon owe the government about $12,000 in cash.
As you begin to think about paying your taxes, you know you need to include your wages, but what else do you have to report?
Not only do you have to pay taxes on wages, but on any awards, prizes, contest winnings, and gambling proceeds. Did you put in a dollar at the church raffle to win the 50-50? Then you need to report it. And if it was more than $5,000 in value, the organization should have taken out taxes before they even handed it to you. If you won a prize, you have to report the fair market value of that prize. So instead of being jealous of the Price is Right guy, you can at least be grateful that you didn’t just win yourself a huge tax bill.
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