Super Bowl Winner Hit by Taxman : Brady Under Attack

WOW - wind the super bowl and get screwed  by the tax man - it's only fair right?

Win the Super Bowl? Face a Big Tax Bill
Source: Ryan Ellis, "IRS to Steal Tom Brady's Superbowl MVP Truck," Americans for Tax Reform, February 4, 2015.

February 6, 2015

There's another aspect to the Super Bowl that Americans might not have thought about -- taxes. Americans for Tax Reform have analyzed quarterback Tom Brady's tax bill after the Super Bowl, and it's not small. According to their analysis:

• Brady won a 2015 Chevy Colorado truck for being MVP. The truck is taxable and has a fair market value of $34,000. Brady faces a 39.6 percent income tax rate, meaning he must pony up $13,500 to the IRS in taxes.
• Brady plans to give the truck to his teammate, so he's also subject to a gift tax. Under the U.S. tax code, a person can give up to $14,000 before he faces taxes. Because the truck is worth $34,000, Brady will probably be taxed 40 percent on the $20,000 ($34,000 minus the $14,000 exclusion) -- $5,000 for giving a gift to a friend.
• Each player on a winning Super Bowl team receives $97,000 from the NFL. That income will be taxed at the 39.6 percent rate. His winnings will also be taxed by a 3.8 percent Medicare tax.

In all, Americans for Tax Reform put Brady's tax bill at $42,000 for winning the Super Bowl.