WooWho
Made It and Played It Producer 
Panel Quizmaster
"They better NOT be booing me!"
Posts: 2,537 
Airdate: 04/28/2014
Winnings: $41,400
SPIN ID: JW1336114
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Post by WooWho on Dec 31, 2015 15:23:40 GMT -5
First of all, happy new year to all, and congrats to our rash of recent contestants who've profited off Sony's pockets!
Our first few boardie contestants should be receiving their checks in a couple of months, and it's definitely going to be an exciting time for them.
Which brings me to today's PSA from your friendly BAV moderator and former contestant: inevitably, you're going to get excited and, as I did, post about it on social media. This may sound like common sense, but it bears repeating (since several folks I know forgot at first): if you decide to do so, please make sure your home address and the account/routing numbers on the check are blacked out (or at least out of the frame of the photo). We know you're usually among friends on social media, but with the way online security settings are these days...you just never know.
This has been a public service announcement of the Buy a Vowel Boards. We now rejoin regular programming in progress.
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ten96lt
Made It and Played It 
Posts: 233
Airdate: 04/07/2014
Winnings: $9,300
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Post by ten96lt on Dec 31, 2015 18:37:49 GMT -5
Also a friendly reminder to make sure to put some aside for Federal taxes so you're not playing catch up on April 15th.
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iroc24
Made It and Played It
Posts: 191 
Airdate: 11/02/17
Winnings: $76,400
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Post by iroc24 on Dec 31, 2015 19:32:51 GMT -5
Can you have them withhold taxes from your prizes after your game? I look forward to my annual refund rather than worry about mailing Uncle Sam a check.
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WooWho
Made It and Played It Producer
Panel Quizmaster
"They better NOT be booing me!"
Posts: 2,537
Airdate: 04/28/2014
Winnings: $41,400
SPIN ID: JW1336114
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Post by WooWho on Dec 31, 2015 20:09:09 GMT -5
If you're not a California resident, they automatically withhold 7 percent CA state taxes from your cash winnings, and I remember they enclosed a form 592-B to file along with the 1099-MISC, and that usually means you end up getting that back. So, let's say you won $4,000 cash and a $6,000 trip, for a game total of $10,000. $10,000 x .07 = $700, so they'd knock that off the $4,000 and send you a check for the difference ($3,300). Not sure how they handle trips, but I'd imagine that's a separate transaction (paging trip winners emilburp and dantastic312...) I don't think you can ask for extra withholding on top of that, though. |
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ten96lt
Made It and Played It
Posts: 233
Airdate: 04/07/2014
Winnings: $9,300
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Post by ten96lt on Dec 31, 2015 23:42:35 GMT -5
Federal tax you're on your own to withhold since it's a 1099. I was a non-CA resident so they automatically withheld 7%. I did the math ahead of time and fortunately my tuition deduction wiped out the tax liability for the Feds, but I would just try to put some in a savings account or just send an estimated payment for the federal portion when you get the check: www.irs.gov/Payments |
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iroc24
Made It and Played It
Posts: 191
Airdate: 11/02/17
Winnings: $76,400
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Post by iroc24 on Jan 1, 2016 10:03:54 GMT -5
That's a good idea. I guess I should wait to see how much I win anyway. What is that about a tuition deduction wiping out tax liability? I have tons of student loans still.
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jmdarrall
Made It and Played It
Waited 30 years for this moment! Thanks, Wheel!
Posts: 446
Airdate: 04/25/13
Winnings: $17,250
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Post by jmdarrall on Jan 1, 2016 11:29:51 GMT -5
In terms of withholding, I don't think you can do it. However, you pay taxes for the year in which you actually received your winnings. For example, I received my winnings in the 2013 tax year, which means that I actually made the payment in February of 2014. The advice of socking a large portion away in a savings account is good advice.
Other advice that you would want to know is that many states have reciprocity agreements with the state of California. When non-California residents have their state tax taken off the top, as Josh mentioned, they receive all the documentation needed to file state taxes with California (basically, when you go on Wheel, you temporarily become a resident of California). However, when I filed my South Carolina, California, and Federal taxes, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that because of the reciprocity agreement, if I paid my South Carolina taxes on my winnings, California wouldn't tax me further and actually refunded the California tax! That, along with the withholding I got from my work paychecks, caused me to only have to pay about $2,200 in Federal and State taxes on my winnings.
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dantastic312
Made It and Played It
Wheel Beast
SOMEWHAT OF A SURPRISE!
Posts: 438
Airdate: 03/06/2014
Winnings: $61,577
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Post by dantastic312 on Jan 2, 2016 13:08:06 GMT -5
Although my check was for the amount of my cash winnings minus 7% per CA, my tax form I received included my trip as part of my total winnings, and therefore income. I was taxed on a full $61,577, not cash then trip.
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ten96lt
Made It and Played It
Posts: 233
Airdate: 04/07/2014
Winnings: $9,300
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Post by ten96lt on Jan 2, 2016 16:29:43 GMT -5
What is that about a tuition deduction wiping out tax liability? I have tons of student loans still. I was still an undergrad for the first half of 2014 so I could use my Spring 2014 tuition as a deduction item; so because of that I was able to utilize tax savings aside from deducting interest paid on student loans (To correct my previous comment: I technically opted for the one of the tax credits rather than deducting the tuition). In my situation it wiped out my Federal tax liability on my winnings, but YMMV as everyone's tax situation is different. |
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iroc24
Made It and Played It
Posts: 191
Airdate: 11/02/17
Winnings: $76,400
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Post by iroc24 on Jan 3, 2016 21:26:40 GMT -5
Makes sense. I'm in graduate school right now. I just got my teacher loan forgiveness last year on a good chunk (not all) of my undergraduate loans. I'm lucky when it comes to taxes because I have a CPA in the family. I'm sure he'll know what to do when I win.
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jmdarrall
Made It and Played It
Waited 30 years for this moment! Thanks, Wheel!
Posts: 446
Airdate: 04/25/13
Winnings: $17,250
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Post by jmdarrall on Jan 4, 2016 23:43:56 GMT -5
Yup. Definitely talk to a CPA or tax specialist if and when you get winnings from the show, especially if it's a large amount.
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