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Should U.S. Olympians Have to Pay Taxes on Their Medals?

Should U.S. Olympians Have to Pay Taxes on Their Medals


  • Total voters
    24
Well, the gift are the years of housing, nutrition and attention to your athletic condition generally. The money is most aptly described as a prize and the IRC specifically defines that as income.

This isn't the first time I disagree with the IRS. and a lot of olympic athletes don't get any public support. I didn't make the 80 or 88 teams but I came damn close and no one but me and my family paid for my training though Perazzi and Winchester did sponsor me. My best friend won two olympic gold medals. He was in the USAF during the 1980 boycott but he made the 76 and 84 teams with no public support
 
The Moderate NIMBY believes that Olympians should not pay tax on their Medals.

However, NIM does believe that ALL Americans should pay tax on Income,
especially a higher % on the Rich Retired who really don't need any more.

He who dies with the most toys is not the winner.
And Grip had a great OP today on the FIVE Billionaires and their trial balloons .
 
This isn't the first time I disagree with the IRS.

Well, it seems you just disagree with taxing income generally, which is fine, so do I. In theory we could stretch the concept of volunteer and gift whereby your job is really done on a volunteer basis and your wage is really just a weekly gift. No, that relationship is correctly defined as 'income' -- here we're discussing a physical contest, Olympic or otherwise, and how you perform in the contest determines whether or not you receive the ---- 'PRIZE' its not a perversion of the English language at all.

Classifying it as 'income' for purposes of the income tax, that's beside the point, point is, when I win prizes I'm subject to taxation too. And yes, actually I still win de minimus raffles and prizes for things like softball tournaments, etc....if it exceeds $600, I have to pay and if one of the larger raffles I contribute to pays off, I'd have to pay. I'm sorry, but so do they.

and a lot of olympic athletes don't get any public support.

They shouldn't.

My best friend won two olympic gold medals. He was in the USAF during the 1980 boycott but he made the 76 and 84 teams with no public support

Yes, and he still 'won' the medals, that's a prize....
 
Well, it seems you just disagree with taxing income generally, which is fine, so do I. In theory we could stretch the concept of volunteer and gift whereby your job is really done on a volunteer basis and your wage is really just a weekly gift. No, that relationship is correctly defined as 'income' -- here we're discussing a physical contest, Olympic or otherwise, and how you perform in the contest determines whether or not you receive the ---- 'PRIZE' its not a perversion of the English language at all.

Classifying it as 'income' for purposes of the income tax, that's beside the point, point is, when I win prizes I'm subject to taxation too. And yes, actually I still win de minimus raffles and prizes for things like softball tournaments, etc....if it exceeds $600, I have to pay and if one of the larger raffles I contribute to pays off, I'd have to pay. I'm sorry, but so do they.



They shouldn't.



Yes, and he still 'won' the medals, that's a prize....

He didn't pay taxes on them: this issue is about the stipend the USOC gives athletes.

I think if you look at it carefully its more of the nature of a gift

the money that the USOC gives athletes come from gifts to the USOC mainly
 
Heya WCH. :2wave: Funny thing.....Marco Rubio was the one that put forth the legislation in 2012 and then Obama signed onto it. Plus accountants sy they may have a way around it.


According to Americans for Tax Reform, a group supporting the bill, those in the top tax bracket — like skier Ted Ligety, ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White, or any U.S. hockey player — will pay 39.6 percent, or $9,900, on a gold medal — while those in the bottom tax bracket will pay 10 percent, or $2,500, for a gold.

However, accountants suggest there could be a way around the tax question, if Congress does not support the exemption. If an athlete treats his or her sports activity as a business, then related expenses might be deductible. So all of those training expenses, the cost of travel and equipment could be deducted against income.....snip~
I saw where Tom Ligety owned several hundred thousand dollar of ski equipment. He should get some sort of break.
 
Gold medals, No. Silver and Bronze medals, Yes.
 
The title of the poll is misleading. They aren't paying taxes on the medals themselves. They're paying taxes on the cash prize they are awarded for winning the medal. And I see no reason why that shouldn't be taxed.
 
The title of the poll is misleading. They aren't paying taxes on the medals themselves. They're paying taxes on the cash prize they are awarded for winning the medal. And I see no reason why that shouldn't be taxed.

I thought they also paid taxes on the value of the metal in the medal. I could be wrong on that.
 
I thought they also paid taxes on the value of the metal in the medal. I could be wrong on that.

If that's true then I don't think they should have to pay those taxes. I can't imagine many of them sell the medal for the value of the ore in it.
 
If that's true then I don't think they should have to pay those taxes. I can't imagine many of them sell the medal for the value of the ore in it.

Again, I'm not certain of that, but I believe that's what I'd read two years ago after the Summer Olympics.

Then again, I imagine the level of displeasure the 1976 US Men's Basketball Team had to have in getting taxed for medals they've chosen never to accept.
 
I saw where Tom Ligety owned several hundred thousand dollar of ski equipment. He should get some sort of break.

Mornin WCH. :2wave: I agree with Radcen and think they should be able to treat it like a business. They get endorsements and as others mentioned gifts. Cars, clothing which includes Dress Clothing for those Special Moments with sponsors and dinners. Jewelry and watches. They also get reduced Airline tickets or fly with those on Private Jets. Also all that Air time and commercials to keep them in the public eye and following them thru World Sports. So to me it is a business.

I think it was wrong for Rubio to file the legislation in the first place. Using the Olympians and their public status and trying to give Elites a pass. It would be a special exemption. They already play with.....Hey Look at Me!
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The title of the poll is misleading. They aren't paying taxes on the medals themselves. They're paying taxes on the cash prize they are awarded for winning the medal. And I see no reason why that shouldn't be taxed.

Mornin MD. :2wave: Yeah I must admit I took that question from a different news site. Myself I thought it was appropriate to put up as a poll. Get the article posted up as I had some other things going. So while I was a bit hasty, there wasn't any intent to mislead anyone. Several Media sources have carried the same Question to. Not looking at any specific technicalities. More than likely some of them in their discussions over the matter. Would bring out most of the specifics while they were talking about it.

Glad you agree they should have to pay the taxes too.
 
Given the current laws, it is income therefore should be taxed. That's not to say I agree with income tax - I'm just taking a "here and now" practical view. I would have no problem with the U.S. passing a law that exempts Olympic medal winners from taxes.
 
Why shouldn't it be taxed? Because it's warm-and-fuzzy? It is income, isn't it?

Not really, no. Taxable income is defined as wages, salaries, tips, or other taxable employee pay, union strike benefits, disability pay prior to retirement age, net earnings from the self-employed, etc. Basically, income is actual money. By all means, tax their income from endorsements, as well as the cash prize that goes with the medal, (which I suspect is the actual item being taxed) but the medal itself falls under the category of achievement awards. Since the material value of a gold medal is only $644 (it's only 1% gold), and the bronze being anywhere as low as $5, the medals are well under the $1,600 mark, meaning they are excluded from taxation.
 
So far we have 10 that say No don't tax them and 6 that say yes.....then Chocolate jumped into the Wheaties. :lol:

I was Surprised to see the Progressives were even saying to tax them.....then Rubio a conservative say don't tax them. What happened.....did they switch flip flops? :mrgreen:
 
Olympic Medal? Well Done, Now Pay Your Taxes: Uncle Sam.....

American medal winners at the Sochi Winter Olympics are liable for taxes on the cash earnings they receive form the U.S. Olympic Committee.

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Those medals Americans have been winning at the Winter Olympics in Sochi come with a price. Uncle Sam wants his percentage, whether it's gold, silver or bronze.

The U.S. Olympic Committee awards cash prizes to medal winners ─ $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. But the money is considered earned income abroad and subject to IRS taxation ─ as much as 39 percent.

That's why some politicians have revived a bill introduced in Congress at the time of the Summer Games in London to exempt those Olympic winnings as earnings. The bill never even came to a vote in 2012.

Many other nations do not tax Olympians for their medal prizes and some, such as Britain, don't give their medalists cash prizes at all.....snip~

Olympic Medal? Well Done, Now Pay Your Taxes: Uncle Sam - NBC News


So what say ye? Should the Olympians be Taxed?
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From the way they were talking about this on the news, the IRS was going to tax our Olympians on the value of the medal. There was no mention of cash prizes awarded to them via the U.S. Olympic Committee. I knew nothing about the cash prizes or awards.

I was all up in arms and about to blast the IRS and our government for taxing the medals. Seems there is more to this story than what I heard.

But perhaps the question is, should the country who picked these athletics to represent it in the games tax them for doing so?
 
Here's another way to look at this:
The IOC has decided that a gold medal (which is gold played) must have at least 6 grams of gold and (I'm pretty sure) a silver core. So if your gold plated medal with a silver core weighs out at 8 oz you'd have 6 grams of gold which would be about $260 and 220 grams of silver which would be another $200 or so. I'd have no qualms about claiming that "fair market value" was $500.

Now, if I sold it to someone.....whole different story.

Last I checked, the exclusion amounts on a 2555 were hovering around six figures. If that's the case, then they'd have to be a multi-medal winner to be subjected.

Even if 2555 isn't applicable, I'm guessing that many of these athletes probably used much of their own funds for training, and could use these as a writeoff on a Schedule C to easily zero out.

Feel free to tell me if I'm wrong.
 
Last I checked, the exclusion amounts on a 2555 were hovering around six figures. If that's the case, then they'd have to be a multi-medal winner to be subjected.

Even if 2555 isn't applicable, I'm guessing that many of these athletes probably used much of their own funds for training, and could use these as a writeoff on a Schedule C to easily zero out.

Feel free to tell me if I'm wrong.

A 2555 probably wouldn't apply because the athlete wouldn't be out of country long enough.

I also wouldn't use a Sch C unless it was absolutely necessary because they really aren't "in the business" of being athletes unless they're doing it professionally (getting endorsements, appearance fees, etc.). Besides, we want any income to be capital gains instead of SE income, right?
 
A 2555 probably wouldn't apply because the athlete wouldn't be out of country long enough.

I also wouldn't use a Sch C unless it was absolutely necessary because they really aren't "in the business" of being athletes unless they're doing it professionally (getting endorsements, appearance fees, etc.). Besides, we want any income to be capital gains instead of SE income, right?

Yeah that's true. Usually the 2555s I've done have been people actually living abroad and not just going over there to compete for prize money.

I would think that SE would be more favorable, especially if they can write off a portion of that prize money. That aside, it's the difference between paying 7.65% and 15%.
 
I think it's a bad idea for the government to decide that income from certain sources is special and shouldn't be taxed, but other income isn't. With the exception of federal employees, for whom I see income taxes being somewhat redundant.
 
I think it's a bad idea for the government to decide that income from certain sources is special and shouldn't be taxed, but other income isn't. With the exception of federal employees, for whom I see income taxes being somewhat redundant.

The issue is how much 'income' do you really receive from getting a medal? It's not like you can walk into the local grocery store and trade it for a cart of groceries.
 
From the way they were talking about this on the news, the IRS was going to tax our Olympians on the value of the medal. There was no mention of cash prizes awarded to them via the U.S. Olympic Committee. I knew nothing about the cash prizes or awards.

I was all up in arms and about to blast the IRS and our government for taxing the medals. Seems there is more to this story than what I heard.

But perhaps the question is, should the country who picked these athletics to represent it in the games tax them for doing so?



Heya Pero. :2wave: Yeah and we have had a politician come out looking to push legislation to not have them pay a State Tax either. Which her rational used was that there other states without a state tax. :roll:
 
Heya Pero. :2wave: Yeah and we have had a politician come out looking to push legislation to not have them pay a State Tax either. Which her rational used was that there other states without a state tax. :roll:

The way I look at it, the athletes won the medals representing the good old USA, no tax at all on the medals. Now if I understand the money prizes, that was paid by our own Olympic Committee. It wasn't part of the games per se or as a award given by the International Olympic Committee to all Gold, Silver and Bronze winners. It was nothing more than an incentive from the US to US athletes. I really have no problem with taxing the cash in this instance. That is because in my mind, the cash was not part of the International games given to one and all. It was paid by our country to our countries athletes as a bonus so to speak.
 
The way I look at it, the athletes won the medals representing the good old USA, no tax at all on the medals. Now if I understand the money prizes, that was paid by our own Olympic Committee. It wasn't part of the games per se or as a award given by the International Olympic Committee to all Gold, Silver and Bronze winners. It was nothing more than an incentive from the US to US athletes. I really have no problem with taxing the cash in this instance. That is because in my mind, the cash was not part of the International games given to one and all. It was paid by our country to our countries athletes as a bonus so to speak.


Heya Pero.....Yeah that's what it is.....the money given out by the Olympic Committee. Yet.....the Brits didn't say if their athletes still collected any prize money. As they don't give that benefit to theirs.

I think they should be able to classify it as a business. As if they are a Contractor. Write off travel expenses, and whats used for the business.

Still its not like they aren't getting that free Ride to Stardom.
 
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