I won £80k on a TV show but it was the worst decision of my life – I ended up paying back debt for years
A WOMAN has revealed that winning a huge cash prize on a TV show ended up being the worst financial decision of her life.
India Gants, won America’s Next Top Model in 2017, when she was 19-years-old.
The now 28-year-old said that when she won the show, she was handed a cheque for £80,000.
“Boom baby, I’m rich”, she said, recounting her story in a TikTok video.
In the UK, all game show earnings are tax-free, meaning that you get to take the whole amount home.
However, in the US, winnings are taxed as ordinary income,
India said that her “itty bitty, undeveloped brain”, thought that when she received the cheque, the tax had already been taken out.
“News flash, not the case.”
The model then went out and spent the entirety of the money on an apartment in New York, a car, and on taking her family out for fancy dinners.
“Not the smartest thing I could have done”, she said.
India said that in hindsight, she should have kept 35 to 45% of the money, so that she would be ready when she had to pay it back in tax.
Instead, since she spent all of the money, she had to spend years paying it back.
“When you watch a game show and you see that they won $10,000 or a new car, just take that with a grain of salt”, she said.
“Always prepare for taxes everyone”.
India (@indiagants) video, has likely left many open-mouthed, as it has racked up over 241,000 views on the video sharing platform.
Do you have to pay tax on game show winnings in the UK?
Unlike in many other countries, such as the US, HMRC allows cash prizes from competitions and the National Lottery to be tax-free.
However, in order for the money to be seen as from a ‘competition’, there has to be a skill-based element, such as a quiz question, or the option of free entry.
This is why some competitions ask incredibly simple questions that even a five-year-old could answer, as they are trying to get around the requirement to offer a free entry option.
TikTok users raced to the video’s comments section to share their thoughts.
One person said: “I learned about this from the Drag Race winners that did the same thing.
“They definitely should assign people a financial advisor!”
A second person said: “Thank you for sharing your experience, it can help young people learn about the importance of their financial decisions.”
A third person added: “What about the family you were taking out to dinners?
“As a parent I would have made sure my kid knew about the taxes.”
A fourth person added: “I’ll never forget when Oprah gave out free cars and this happened to the whole audience!”
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