Help...I'm confused

M

mtomas

New member
I received an email from Homeaway for an instant win a few weeks ago. I won a frisbee, but in order to claim it, they want me to fill out a W9 form. I thought those were for wins that were over $600 and if so what kind of frisbee is it?lol Can someone help me figure this out..
 
The sponsor is required to use the form and report it to the IRS if the prize is worth $600 or more. If it's less, most of them don't bother with a lot of paperwork, but some still do. Sometimes it doesn't seem to be worth the hassle for a small prize, so it's up to you.
 
ALL wins are taxable, whether they are over 600 or not, if you win something, it should be listed on your tax return and tax paid on it, no matter what the amount, even a free coupon. Vendors are not required to send in a 1099 for something that is under 600.00, but it is still taxable. And the sponsor can report it as a win to the IRS, they are just not required to get a 1099 from you.
 
Absolutely true, and all the contests clearly state that taxes are the responsibility of the winner. But they can't report it to the IRS if they don't have a SSN.
 
Good Luck! Maybe there's a check taped to the Frisbee. Personally, I wouldn't give out my SSN for a Frisbee...but maybe that's just my own paranoia!
 
mtomas said:
I received an email from Homeaway for an instant win a few weeks ago. I won a frisbee, but in order to claim it, they want me to fill out a W9 form. I thought those were for wins that were over $600 and if so what kind of frisbee is it?lol Can someone help me figure this out..
Click to expand...

You're not the only one. See new post today just after yours by census 1.

She won a $15 gift card and they also want a W9.

Sure hope this doesn't create a trend.
 
:wave: mtomas


Re: ARV and your taxes {TY to LIDARKSIDE}
http://www.sweepstakesplus.com/smf/arv-and-your-taxes-ty-to-lidarkside-t50686.0.html


Amy Shulkusky said:
Many times I've read posts where the winner took the time to contact the sponsor to determine if they *had* to do an affy when they won a lower tier prize - most of the time, the answer was yes.

But, unless you ask, you don't know if they only had one type of form and only those who won prizes worth $600 or more really needed to get the form notarized.

I guess the people doing the fulfillment just assume? :scratch:
Click to expand...
 
Some sponsors use the same form for small and big wins. You can contact them and ask if providing your SSN is necessary in this case, since the value of your prize is less than $600, before you send back anything.
 
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