What Really Happens When You Win A Car On The Price Is Right
Contestant Haley looks at something in open-mouthed shock while standing beside
Drew Carey in The Price is Right
Photo Credit: Valerie Ettenhofer: TV Line
So, you win a car on the TV show, “The Price Is Right.” Does the host hand you the keys and usher you to your new wheels on the way out the studio door? Not exactly. In a November 29, 2025, piece in TVLine, Valerie Ettenhofer explains what really happens. You can read her article here: https://www.tvline.com/2035473/what-happens-when-win-car-the-price-is-right/?zsource=yahoo.
The Price is Right is an iconic American game show that first aired on NBC from 1956 to 1963, and ABC from 1963 to 1965. The show was revived in 1972 on CBS, featuring host Bob Barker, who enjoyed a 35-year run until his retirement in 2007, when Drew Carey took over. Carey remains the show’s host today and continues Barker’s signature signoff. The Price Is Right is the longest-running game show on television.[i]
In the show, four contestants are called upon to guess the price of the prize appearing before them. The contestant coming closest is the winner.
So, what does all this have to do with the FAIRtax? Valerie Ettenhofer writes:
“… winners are required to pay taxes before accepting their prize, and don't actually get to take it home right away. Contestant Debra Field told the Asbury Park Press that once filming wraps, ‘you fill out a form and it explains exactly what you won and that you have to pay California income tax on your prizes.’ Next, you'll have to pay the show's accounting department with a certified check and pick up the car at a local dealership.
“Shawn Allen, another player who won nearly $40,000 in cash and prizes in 2015, explained in a Reddit AMA that ‘California takes 7% before you receive your prizes’ and winners must also pay federal taxes on whatever shiny new toys they take home. According to a 2012 ABC piece, Showcase Showdown-level prizes on "The Price is Right" can bump some people up to an entirely new tax bracket, and despite all the excitement in the moment, winners have been known to turn down a portion of their winnings to spare themselves the accounting headache.”
How would the FAIRtax handle this situation differently? The first point is that the FAIRtax legislation does not tell California what to do. The FAIRtax is federal legislation. If California chooses to continue its current tax system, income or otherwise, California is free to do so. The legislation gives California a mild incentive to change its tax system to one that mirrors the FAIRtax.
FAIRtax eliminates the income tax liability contestants would incur from winning a prize on The Price Is Right. But there would be tax on the prize under Section 901(e), (Additional Matters). As a registered seller, CBS would buy the prize tax-free. But when the prize is provided to the contestant, tax is due. Generally, CBS is subject to tax on the value of taxable property or services it provides as a gift, prize, reward, or remuneration for employment. For public relations reasons, CBS would likely pick up the tab for the tax. The FAIRtax is more directly related to the transaction than the contestant’s income-tax liability for receiving the prize.
Contestants would likely continue to fill out a form before receiving their prize, but the tax status related to the prize would be more transparent. There would be no more tax surprises.
If you know of a situation in which a well-known event triggers an unexpected income tax liability, I would love to hear from you.
The Price is Right is an iconic American game show that first aired on NBC from 1956 to 1963, and ABC from 1963 to 1965. The show was revived in 1972 on CBS, featuring host Bob Barker, who enjoyed a 35-year run until his retirement in 2007, when Drew Carey took over. Carey remains the show’s host today and continues Barker’s signature signoff. The Price Is Right is the longest-running game show on television.[i]
In the show, four contestants are called upon to guess the price of the prize appearing before them. The contestant coming closest is the winner.
So, what does all this have to do with the FAIRtax? Valerie Ettenhofer writes:
“… winners are required to pay taxes before accepting their prize, and don't actually get to take it home right away. Contestant Debra Field told the Asbury Park Press that once filming wraps, ‘you fill out a form and it explains exactly what you won and that you have to pay California income tax on your prizes.’ Next, you'll have to pay the show's accounting department with a certified check and pick up the car at a local dealership.
“Shawn Allen, another player who won nearly $40,000 in cash and prizes in 2015, explained in a Reddit AMA that ‘California takes 7% before you receive your prizes’ and winners must also pay federal taxes on whatever shiny new toys they take home. According to a 2012 ABC piece, Showcase Showdown-level prizes on "The Price is Right" can bump some people up to an entirely new tax bracket, and despite all the excitement in the moment, winners have been known to turn down a portion of their winnings to spare themselves the accounting headache.”
How would the FAIRtax handle this situation differently? The first point is that the FAIRtax legislation does not tell California what to do. The FAIRtax is federal legislation. If California chooses to continue its current tax system, income or otherwise, California is free to do so. The legislation gives California a mild incentive to change its tax system to one that mirrors the FAIRtax.
FAIRtax eliminates the income tax liability contestants would incur from winning a prize on The Price Is Right. But there would be tax on the prize under Section 901(e), (Additional Matters). As a registered seller, CBS would buy the prize tax-free. But when the prize is provided to the contestant, tax is due. Generally, CBS is subject to tax on the value of taxable property or services it provides as a gift, prize, reward, or remuneration for employment. For public relations reasons, CBS would likely pick up the tab for the tax. The FAIRtax is more directly related to the transaction than the contestant’s income-tax liability for receiving the prize.
Contestants would likely continue to fill out a form before receiving their prize, but the tax status related to the prize would be more transparent. There would be no more tax surprises.
If you know of a situation in which a well-known event triggers an unexpected income tax liability, I would love to hear from you.
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[i] Florida does not belong to the handful of states that sponsor disability insurance benefits and deduct that cost from payroll.
[ii] Florida Budget Report for 2025-2026.
[iii] Tuerck, Bachmann, Jacob, “Fiscal Federalism: The National FairTax and the States,” The Beacon Hill Institute, September 2007, at p. 17, Table 3.
[1] You can design your own business card. I had mine printed at https://www.vistaprint.com. Here’s mine. Please clear your design first with our Marketing and Communications Team Leader, Randy Fischer, randy.fischer@fairtax.org. Randy turns requests around quickly. We need to know where our logos and service marks are going.
[i] You can design your own business card. I had mine printed at https://www.vistaprint.com. Here’s mine. Please clear your design first with our Marketing and Communications Team Leader, Randy Fischer, randy.fischer@fairtax.org. Randy turns requests around quickly. We need to know where our logos and service marks are going.
[i] The nine jurisdictions with statewide sales taxes but no local sales taxes are Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia.
[ii] Tax Foundation: https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/2024-sales-taxes/
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Fiscal Federalism: The National FairTax and the States, Tuerck, Bachman, and Jacob, The Beacon Hill Institute, September 2007, see the chart at p. 17.
[1] The average rates expressed as a percentage of AGI within each jurisdiction are: AL--0.10%; DE--0.16%; IN--0.62%; IA--0.11%; KY--1.33%; MD--2.40%; MI--0.17%; MO--0.22%; NY--1.63%; OH--1.57%; PA--1.23%. In CA, CO, KS, NJ, OR, and WV some jurisdictions have payroll taxes, flat-rate wage taxes, or interest and dividend income taxes. See Andrey Yushkov, Tax Foundation “State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2024” February 2024; https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates-2024/l See also Jared Walczak, Janelle Fritts, and Maxwell James, “Local Income Taxes: A Primer,” Tax Foundation, February 23, 2023, https://taxfoundation.org/local-income-taxes-2023/.
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