U.S. Medals Equal Cash For Athletes (And Taxes Due Of Course)

Winning an olympic medal as an U.S Olympic athlete means cash in your pocket. The U.S. Olympic Committee pays athletes $25,000 per gold, $15,000 per silver, and $10,000 per bronze. Of course, part of being an American means giving a healthy chunk of that back to the IRS. As much as $10,000 of the gold medal award could need to be paid back it taxes.

The medal-money is considered earned income abroad and subject to IRS taxation. Athlete's that fall into higher tax brackets could face that $10,000 tax amount on a gold. At a minimum, athletes in the lowest tax bracket would need to hand $2,500 back to Uncle Sam.

USA, USA, USA! Congratulations! Pay up.