Private ruling: Prize
Date of advice: 10 August 2015
Published: August 2015
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 20XX
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 20XX

Ruling: Q1: Is the cash prize awarded to you assessable income? | A1: No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You participated in a competition. You could have been eliminated at any time during the competition but proceeded through and won the competition. You received a cash prize. You were not working in a related industry before the competition.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 6-10 | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 6-5(1) | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 15-2(1)

Reasons for decision: Summary: A prize or gift will be assessable income if it is: • income in the ordinary sense of the word (ordinary income), or • the provisions of the tax law include it as assessable income (statutory income). | Detailed Reasoning - Ordinary income: Under subsection 6-5(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997 ), ordinary income means income 'according to ordinary concepts'. Generally, a gift or prize is regarded as a personal windfall gain and not as ordinary income unless the taxpayer has received the prize or gift because of, in respect of, or in relation to any income-producing activity of the taxpayer. In determining whether a prize or gift is ordinary income, the courts have established that consideration of the whole of the circumstances is necessary and that the following factors need to be taken into account: • how, in what capacity, and for what reason the recipient received the prize or gift • whether the prize or gift is of a kind which is a common incident of the recipient's calling or occupation • whether the prize or gift is made voluntarily • whether the prize or gift is solicited • whether the prize or gift can be traced to gratitude engendered by some service rendered by the recipient to the prize or gift donor • the motive of the prize or gift donor (through this factor is rarely decisive in itself), and • whether the recipient relies on the prize or gift for regular maintenance of themselves and any dependants. | Detailed Reasoning - Statutory income: Under section 6-10 of the ITAA 1997 assessable income also includes statutory income. Statutory income is amounts that are not ordinary assessable income. Subsection 15-2(1) of the ITAA 1997 provides that the value to the taxpayer of all gratuities and benefits given or granted to them in respect to, or for, or in relation directly, or indirectly, to any employment will be included in their assessable income. There must be a connection between the payment and the employment. The receipt must be a product of the employment. | Detailed Reasoning - Application to your circumstances: You entered a competition with a chance of winning a prize. You won the competition and received a cash prize. At the time you entered the competition, you were not working in the relevant industry. Therefore, it is considered that your prize is not the product or consequence of income producing activities. The prize money is a windfall gain. Therefore, the prize money is not assessable as ordinary or statutory income.