You have to pay taxes before collecting your prizes

If you think you can just drive that car off the soundstage, think again. There's a process behind collecting your prizes on a game show. Previous contestant who won a car, Debra Field, told App.com, "After the show is over and you see your prizes, you fill out a form and it explains exactly what you won and that you have to pay California income tax on your prizes.... You see the form, you sign it. And they say, approximately one week before the show airs, you'll receive a letter from accounting and you'll see the amount that you owe. And then after the show airs, you can send in your certified check. And then after that, they will contact a local ... car dealership."

That means you have to fork over a check before you get your prize. Not exactly magical. But what if you can't afford the taxes, or don't want the prize? Believe it or not, it's happened before.

You can turn down a prize if you want to

Another winner held an AmA on Reddit to share his experience winning a car. At the time, he was in the process of saving up to pay the taxes and collect his prize. "You can deny certain prizes," he revealed, explaining that you get a sheet breaking down all your winnings and can make your decisions from there.

"Taxes and title are due at time of pickup," he explained of the car. "Also, you have to pay income tax for the items you won the year of the air date. So for me, its 2018 taxes for a car and some jewelry."

Some people would rather take the cash than the prize, but that's only possible under very limited circumstances. "We won an Apple computer, and Apple doesn't ship their items, so we got the money," a winner told ABC News. The winner went on to use the cash from that to pay taxes on some of the other prizes. Few contestants get to take advantage of such a situation.

https://www.thelist.com/287896/the-truth-about-winning-a-new-car-on-the-price-is-right/

You have to pay taxes before collecting your prizes

If you think you can just drive that car off the soundstage, think again. There's a process behind collecting your prizes on a game show. Previous contestant who won a car, Debra Field, told App.com, "After the show is over and you see your prizes, you fill out a form and it explains exactly what you won and that you have to pay California income tax on your prizes.... You see the form, you sign it. And they say, approximately one week before the show airs, you'll receive a letter from accounting and you'll see the amount that you owe. And then after the show airs, you can send in your certified check. And then after that, they will contact a local ... car dealership."

That means you have to fork over a check before you get your prize. Not exactly magical. But what if you can't afford the taxes, or don't want the prize? Believe it or not, it's happened before.

You can turn down a prize if you want to

Another winner held an AmA on Reddit to share his experience winning a car. At the time, he was in the process of saving up to pay the taxes and collect his prize. "You can deny certain prizes," he revealed, explaining that you get a sheet breaking down all your winnings and can make your decisions from there.

"Taxes and title are due at time of pickup," he explained of the car. "Also, you have to pay income tax for the items you won the year of the air date. So for me, its 2018 taxes for a car and some jewelry."

Some people would rather take the cash than the prize, but that's only possible under very limited circumstances. "We won an Apple computer, and Apple doesn't ship their items, so we got the money," a winner told ABC News. The winner went on to use the cash from that to pay taxes on some of the other prizes. Few contestants get to take advantage of such a situation.

https://www.thelist.com/287896/the-truth-about-winning-a-new-car-on-the-price-is-right/