To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to remove the income limitation on the exclusion from gross income of any medal or prize money won in competition in the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code exclusion for Olympic and Paralympic awards by removing the income limitation that currently denies the exclusion to athletes above the statutory adjusted-gross-income threshold. After the change, a qualifying athlete can exclude the value of an Olympic or Paralympic medal and qualifying prize money paid by the United States Olympic Committee regardless of the athlete's other income.
The amendment applies to prizes and awards received after December 31, 2025. It changes who can use the existing exclusion; it does not create a new sports prize, increase medal payments, exempt endorsement income, exclude salary or appearance fees, cover every award from a private or foreign organization, or retroactively alter taxes on awards received before 2026.
Because lower-income qualifying medalists can already use the exclusion, the direct new tax benefit is concentrated among medalists whose income would otherwise exceed the limitation. The uniform rule also removes an income calculation and phase boundary from return preparation and enforcement.
Who Benefits and How
High-income Olympic and Paralympic medalists gain the clearest benefit because qualifying medal value and prize money would no longer become taxable solely because of adjusted gross income. Other covered athletes gain a stable rule that does not depend on income fluctuations. Tax preparers, sports organizations, and the IRS receive a simpler eligibility rule, while athletes can retain more of a qualifying award.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Treasury bears the foregone revenue from newly excluded awards. The IRS must revise instructions, forms, and guidance for the effective date. Tax administrators must continue distinguishing covered medal and committee prize amounts from endorsements and other taxable earnings. Taxpayers who do not receive comparable exclusions may view the broader athlete preference as inequitable, and athletes with nonqualifying sports income receive no relief.
Key Provisions
- Removes the adjusted-gross-income limitation from the athlete exclusion.
- Extends uniform treatment to qualifying Olympic medalists.
- Extends uniform treatment to qualifying Paralympic medalists.
- Preserves the exclusion for qualifying medal value.
- Preserves the exclusion for qualifying committee prize money.
- Applies to prizes and awards received after December 31, 2025.
- Provides no exclusion for endorsement income.
- Provides no exclusion for salary or appearance fees.
- Provides no new medal or prize payment.
- Provides no retroactive exclusion for earlier awards.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Removes the income-based limitation on the federal tax exclusion for the value of Olympic and Paralympic medals and qualifying United States Olympic Committee prize money, applying the uniform exclusion to awards received after December 31, 2025.
Key Policy Areas
Federal Income Tax, Olympic Athletes, Paralympic Athletes, Prize Money, Amateur Sports
Primary Purpose
Removes the income-based limitation on the federal tax exclusion for the value of Olympic and Paralympic medals and qualifying United States Olympic Committee prize money, applying the uniform exclusion to awards received after December 31, 2025.
Policy Domains
Section 1 income-limit repeal and post-2025 effective date
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- High-income Olympic medalists
- High-income Paralympic medalists
- Athletes with volatile annual income
- Tax preparers serving covered athletes
- Sports organizations explaining award taxation
- Internal Revenue Service staff applying a simpler rule
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- United States Treasury
- IRS guidance and forms staff
- Tax administrators separating covered and noncovered income
- Taxpayers without comparable prize exclusions
- Athletes earning taxable endorsement income
- Medalists whose awards were received before 2026
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Mrs. Fischbach (for herself, Mr. Stauber, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Wied, …
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "payer"
- → United States Olympic Committee paying qualifying prize money
- "athlete"
- → Olympic or Paralympic medalist receiving a qualifying award
- "preparer"
- → Tax professional reporting an athlete's awards and other income
- "treasury"
- → United States Treasury absorbing foregone tax revenue
- "administrator"
- → Internal Revenue Service official administering the exclusion
Note: {'scope_ids': ['olympic_medal_tax_exclusion'], 'description': 'The amendment removes only the income ceiling for the existing medal-and-prize exclusion; it does not exempt endorsements, salaries, appearance fees, unrelated private awards, or qualifying awards received before 2026.'}
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A qualifying prize or award received after December 31, 2025, to which the amendment applies.
The value of a covered medal and qualifying prize money paid by the United States Olympic Committee under the existing tax exclusion.
The adjusted-gross-income restriction that the bill removes from the existing athlete-award exclusion.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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