You Have to Report Giveaway Winnings on Your Taxes? Really?

Tax Refund by mayc00p

Every year I find out something else I didn't know I was supposed to report.  Did you know that you are supposed to report the following?

• Income from side jobs (like babysitting, mowing lawns, taking paid surveys, etc.)
• Barter exchanges of goods or services
• Gambling winnings (and you can report losses too)
• Awards, prizes, contest winnings

Yeah, that makes me want to lovingly throw a pie in an IRS agent's face (ok, that's not really fair, since they aren't the ones actually responsible for this mess of a system...hey Congress, want pie?).

And did you catch that last item?  Yes, they want you to report your giveaway winnings, and no, not just if you won something BIG (like a car or a house).

Technically, you are supposed to report ANYTHING you win, no matter how small (though some promotional items may be exempt.)    I found a really good article that explains how to do that, and another at Get Along Home which has a helpful method of keeping records.

But if you don't need to file anyways....
Of course, some people don't even have to file taxes (some people earn so little they don't have to).   If you don't have to file, then you probably don't have to report any of this unless it changes your income enough that you would have to file.

(If tax season is getting you down, check out these tax day freebies from restaurants and businesses...that should cheer you up!)