DESCRIPTION OF H.R. 5946, 

THE “UNITED STATES APPRECIATION FOR OLYMPIANS 

AND PARALYMPIANS ACT” 

Scheduled for Markup 

by the 

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS 

on September 14, 2016 

Prepared by the Staff 

of the 

JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION 

 

 

September 13, 2016 

JCX-72-16
i 

CONTENTS 

Page 

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1

A. Exclusion from Gross Income for the Value of Medals Awarded at Olympic or 

 Paralympic Games and for Certain Prizes or Awards Paid by the U.S. Olympic 

 Committee to Competitors ............................................................................................... 2

B. Estimated Revenue Effect ................................................................................................ 4
1 

INTRODUCTION 

The House Committee on Ways and Means has scheduled a committee markup on 

September 14, 2016, of H.R. 5946, the “United States Appreciation for Olympians and 

Paralympics Act.” This document,1

 prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, 

provides a description of the bill. 

 1

 This document may be cited as follows: Joint Committee on Taxation, Description of H.R. 5946, the 

“United States Appreciation for Olympians and Paralympians Act” (JCX-72-16), September 13, 2016. This 

document can also be found on the Joint Committee on Taxation website at www.jct.gov. 
2 

A. Exclusion from Gross Income for the Value of Medals Awarded at Olympic 

or Paralympic Games and for Certain Prizes or Awards Paid 

by the U.S. Olympic Committee to Competitors 

Present Law 

U.S. citizens and residents are subject to U.S. taxation on their worldwide income, from 

whatever source derived,2 absent a specific statutory exception. Prizes and awards are 

specifically included in income.3

 If prizes or awards are provided in the form of goods or 

services, the fair market value of the goods or services provided is the amount to be included in 

income.4

There are three exceptions to the general rule of inclusion of prizes and awards: First, 

qualified scholarships described in section 117; second, certain employee achievement awards; 

and third, awards for religious, charitable, scientific, educational, artistic, literary or civic 

achievement, provided that the recipient takes no action to be considered for the award, requests 

that the monetary award be transferred to a designated governmental unit or tax-exempt 

organization to which deductible charitable contributions are permitted, and is not required to 

render future substantial services as a condition of the award.5 Examples of awards that may 

qualify for the third exception if the monies associated with the award are timely donated include 

the Nobel and Pulitzer prizes. In contrast, prizes or awards in recognition of athletic 

achievement are generally ineligible for the exception.6 

The United States Olympic Committee (“USOC”) is a corporation created by statute to 

serve as a coordinating body for United States participation in international competitive amateur 

sports, in order to provide “the most competent amateur representation possible in each event” in 

the Olympic, Paralympic and Pan-American Games.7 As part of its activities, the USOC awards 

 2

 Sec. 61. 

3

 Sec. 74. 

4

 Treas. Reg. sec. 1.74-1(a)(2). 

5

 Treas. Reg. sec. 1.74-1(b). 

6

 Wills v. Commissioner, 48 T.C. 308 (1967), aff’d 411 F.2d 537 (9th Cir. 1969), in which the Court held 

that the value of the S. Rae Hickock Belt, awarded to baseball player Maury Wills as outstanding professional 

athlete of the year, was includible in income as a prize or award given for athletic achievement, and ineligible for the 

exception available for awards based on educational, civil, literary, scientific or artistic achievement. 

7

 See generally, 36 U.S.C. secs. 220501 through 220512. The organization does not generally receive 

Federal funding, although specific programs for veterans of U.S. military service receive Federal assistance. 

Instead, the organization raises funds from donors as well as revenue from licensing of use of the US Olympic team 

name and insignia, as well as granting of broadcast rights in the United States. The purposes of the organization are 

enumerated in section 220503, and include promotion of physical fitness and sports participation generally, financial 

assistance to athletes or sport federations, development of training facilities and technical support to amateur athletic 

programs that support sports that are included in the Olympics, Paralympics and Pan-Am games. The USOC 

provides a quadrennial report to Congress on its operations. The most recent report, covering the period 2009 
3 

each U.S. Olympic athlete prize money for each medal won, in the amounts of $25,000 for each 

gold medal, $15,000 for each silver medal, and $10,000 for each bronze medal. U.S. Paralympic 

athletes receive $5,000, $3,500 and $2,500 respectively for each gold, silver and bronze medal 

awarded.8

 All U.S. Olympians or Paralympians are required to be U.S. citizens.9 As a result, 

these performance awards from the USOC are includible as prizes and awards, regardless of 

whether the athletes derive the income for activities performed inside, or outside, the United 

States.10 Both the prize money awarded to U.S. athletes by the USOC, as well as the fair market 

value of gold, silver, and bronze medals, are includible in gross income. 

Explanation of Provision 

The provision creates a new exception to the general rule requiring inclusion of prizes 

and awards in gross income. Under the terms of the exception, neither the value of the medals 

awarded to U.S. Olympic or Paralympic athletes nor the cash prizes given by the USOC are 

includible in income for Federal tax purposes. 

Effective Date 

The proposal applies to prizes and awards received after December 31, 2015. 

 

 

through 2012, was issued June 1, 2013, and is available at http://www.teamusa.org/Footer/Legal/GovernanceDocuments. 

8

 Based solely on recent metal prices, the values of the medals awarded at the Rio games are bear the 

following approximate values of $565 for the gold, $305 for the silver and $5 for the bronze. See, Reid Carlson, 

“The Monetary Worth of the 2016 Rio Olympic Medals,” SwimSwam, available at 

https://swimswam.com/monetary-worth-rio-medals. 

9

 The international governing bodies of the Olympic and Paralympic games permit certain exceptions for 

athletes from countries that do not have national organizations eligible to enter teams in the games. See, Rule 41 and 

related by-laws, The International Olympic Committee Charter, available at http://www.teamusa.org/About-theUSOC/Inside-the-USOC/Olympic-Movement/Structure, and Chapter 3.1, The International Paralympic Committee 

Handbook, available at 

https://www.paralympic.org/sites/default/files/document/160523070735592_Rio%2BQG_23_May_2016.pdf. 

Peter Spiro, “Citizenship and the Olympics,” 5 Insights, (Spring 2016), published by American Bar Association, 

http://www.americanbar.org/publications/insights_on_law_andsociety/16/spring-2016/citizenship-and-the-olympics. 

10 A credit may be allowed for any foreign income tax imposed on awards for games held outside the 

United States. Many Olympic host countries (including the United States) exempt nonresident athletes from income 

tax on awards. As in the United States, these exemptions may be part of a host country’s tax law, and some 

contracts between the International Olympic Committee and Olympic host cities confirm the exemption. Under a 

typical contract, the host city and the host city’s Organizing Committee promise either that the host country will not 

tax performance awards or, if the host country does tax performance awards, that the host city or Organizing 

Committee will reimburse athletes for the amount of the tax. For example, Rio de Janeiro entered into a Host City 

Contract containing this clause. A draft contract corresponding to the 2022 Olympics in China also contains this 

clause. 
4 

B. Estimated Revenue Effect 

Fiscal Years 

[Millions of Dollars] 

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2017-21 2017-26 

 

-1 [1] [1] [1] -1 [1] [1] [1] -1 [1] -2 -3 

NOTE: Details do not add to totals due to rounding. 

[1] Loss of less than $500,000. 

The extent to which the proposal may increase or decrease Federal outlays for the same 

period 2016-2026 has not been estimated. In accordance with section 402 of the Budget Act, the 

Congressional Budget Office has jurisdiction to estimate the effect on direct or discretionary 

spending.