U.S. Olympic Medalists Can Be Taxed on the Value of Medals and USOC Prize Money if Their Income is Over $1 Million

Are you a United States Olympic or Paralympic Gold, Silver or Bronze medalist wondering if you will need to pay taxes on the value of your medals or U.S. Olympic Committee prize money you receive for winning said medals? Me neither.

BUT, if you ARE an Olympic or Paralympic Medalist and just so happen to be reading this, the answer as of 2021 is, only if the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) on your tax return the year you received your medal and prize money is greater than $1 million ($500,000 if you use the Married Filing Separately filing status).

The Internal Revenue Code was amended by the United States Appreciation for Olympians and Paralympians Act of 2016. (H.R. 5946) to effect the above tax treatment. This law exempts the value of any medal awarded in, or prize money received from the United States Olympic Committee on account of competition in the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games, for prizes and awards received after December 31, 2015.

Even if your AGI is below $1 million, you still have to show the value of these awards and prizes on your tax return, then show an offsetting adjustment to reduce the taxable amount to zero.

Excerpt from Draft Schedule 1 (Form 1040), 2021 (Part I Additional Income)

Excerpt from Draft Schedule 1 (Form 1040), 2021 (Part II Adjustments to Income)

So how much does the USOC pay Team USA athletes for their medals? $47,500 for each gold medal, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze. Paralympic Games athletes are paid $7,500 for gold, 45,250 for silver and $3,750 for bronze medals.

Scenes From the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials in Los Angeles on Saturday, February 13th

The U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials took place on the Los Angeles Marathon "Stadium to the Sea" course on Saturday, February 13, 2016. 

The men's race started at 10:06 a.m. with a field of 211 qualifiers who ran qualifying marathon times of under 2 hours, 19 minutes (or sub 1:05 in a half marathon) between August 1, 2013 and January 17, 2016.  A total of 86 men met the "A" standard time of under 2 hours, 15 minutes, receiving funding support to get to the race.

Start of men's race (Photo Credit: Carl Pytlinski)

The women's race had a field of 246 qualifiers who ran a qualifying time of under 2:45 in the marathon (or 1:15 in a half marathon). A total of 42 women met the "A" standard of 2 hours, 37 minutes. A total of 11 "masters" women (age 40+) qualified, which was quite impressive.

Start of women's race (Photo Credit: Carl Pytlinski)

It was a warm winter day in Los Angeles, with temperatures in the mid 60s in the morning, reaching high 70s towards the finish of the race. And the race started mid-morning to accommodate TV broadcasts...unlike typical marathons that start early in the morning.

A total of 108 men completed the marathon course, including the top three, who are now slated to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. The overall men's winner was 29 year old Galen Rupp, who was actually competing in his first full marathon!  His time of 2:11:12 earned him his 3rd trip to the Olympics, having competed in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 Olympics and 10,000 and 5,000 at the 2012 Olympics. Rupp took the silver medal in the 2012 10,000 meters, the first American male medalist in the 10,000 since 1964.

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Keflezighi and Rupp in the lead  (Photo Credit: Carl Pytlinski)

Following Rupp in 2nd place was three-time Olympian and now 40 year old master's runner Meb Keflezighi, who finished in 2:12:20. Meb is a sensation indeed, having earned the silver medal in the 2004 Olympics, the first American medalist since Frank Shorter in 1976. After missing the 2008 Olympics with a hip injury (though he still finished 8th in the Olympic Trials), he went on to compete at the Olympic level again in 2012 with a 4th place overall. Rounding out the top three was 27 year old Jared Ward in 2:13.

A total of 149 women completed the 26.2 mile course, with the top three spots going to 32 year old Amy Cragg in 2:28:20, 32 year old Desiree Linden in 2:28:54 and 34 year old Shalane Flanagan in 2:29:19. This will be Cragg's and Linden's first visit to the Olympics. Flanagan holds the 2nd fastest American marathon time ever (a 2:21:14 at the 2014 Berlin Marathon) and this will be her 4th visit to the Olympics, having competed in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 games.

Cragg and Flanagan  (Photo Credit: Carl Pytlinski)

Congratulations to all of the competitors and best of luck with some solid training to those who have earned the right to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games!

And for 26.2 training tips to complete your first marathon

Marathons within a one hour radius of Ventura County

Some extremely fit looking runners at the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials  (Photo Credit: Carl Pytlinski)

Oxnard High School Stadium is Named After Three-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Houser

I was at a kids track meet at Oxnard High School the other day when I stopped to admire the school track and field records reflected on the large sign shown above. In admiring my way through the impressive array, I did a double take when I saw the boys' shot put record. Bud Houser has the record of 56' 3" that was set in 1922. This record is 92 years old!!

That's not something you see every day. So I took a look at the Oxnard High School website alumni section, which indicated that 1922 graduate Clarence "Bud" Houser went on to compete at the 1924 Olympics in Paris and won the gold medal in both the shot put and the discus throw! No one ever since has won gold medals in both of these events at the same Olympics.

He returned to the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam and earned another gold medal in his only event that year, the discus throw. Competing in the Olympics three times and earning the gold medal each time is pretty darn epic if you ask me. Bud Houser is a legend. I'm not the only one to observe that as the Oxnard High School stadium is named after him!

Houser was a three time national champion in the discus and two time champion in the shot put (including 1921, while he was still in high school). He held the world record of 158 feet, 1 3/4 inches in the discus throw from 1926 to 1929.

In 1979, at the age of 78, Bud was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame. He later enrolled in the dentistry program at USC and opened a dentistry practice in Palm Springs. He died in 1994 at the age of 93.