Community Corner

Should The IRS Tax Gold Medals?

Do you think Olympic champions should be taxed on their medals and prize earnings?

According to the Huffington Post, a national pat on the back isn't the only thing awaiting our returning Olympic champions: medals and prize money are both subject to income tax bills that can reach as high as $8500 a win, depending on one's ranking. 

A gold medal - valued by CNN at approximately $650 - could cost American athletes about $236 in taxes. A bronze metal, worth about $5, would only cost about $2 in taxes

The big costs, instead, come from cash prices: The U.S. Olympic Organizing Committee will award London champions $25,000 for a gold medal, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bringing home a bronze, Reuters reports.

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At a 35 percent income tax rate, bronze medalists will owe the IRS a total of $3,500, silver medalists $5,250 and top finishers $8,750.

Readers: do you think Olympians should be taxed on their medals and prize money? Or should these national champions get a little break for their effort? 

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