Treasury Regulations · 26 CFR
§ 1.74-1. Prizes and awards.
Regulation text, no changes From the eCFR, current as of October 15, 2026. The eCFR is an authoritative but unofficial editorial compilation of the Code of Federal Regulations; the official text is the annual CFR on govinfo. Compare it with this section on ecfr.gov (external site) or the official annual CFR on govinfo (external site).
Regulation under 26 U.S.C. § 74
Cite as 26 CFR § 1.74-1
At a glance
Read from the text and its source citation. Not part of the regulation.
- Status
- In the current eCFR
- Source
- T.D. 6500, 25 FR 11402, Nov. 26, 1960; 25 FR 14021, Dec. 21, 1960; T.D. 9989, 89 FR 17606, Mar. 11, 2024, unless otherwise noted.
- Issued under
- 26 U.S.C. § 74
- Length
- 296 words · about 1 min to read
- Cross-references
- cites 2 Code sections and 0 regulations; cited by 2
¶(a) Inclusion in gross income.
¶(1) Section 74(a) requires the inclusion in gross income of all amounts received as prizes and awards, unless such prizes or awards qualify as an exclusion from gross income under subsection (b), or unless such prize or award is a scholarship or fellowship grant excluded from gross income by section 117. Prizes and awards which are includible in gross income include (but are not limited to) amounts received from radio and television giveaway shows, door prizes, and awards in contests of all types, as well as any prizes and awards from an employer to an employee in recognition of some achievement in connection with his employment.
¶(2) If the prize or award is not made in money but is made in goods or services, the fair market value of the goods or services is the amount to be included in income.
¶(b) Exclusion from gross income. Section 74(b) provides an exclusion from gross income of any amount received as a prize or award, if (1) such prize or award was made primarily in recognition of past achievements of the recipient in religious, charitable, scientific, educational, artistic, literary, or civic fields; (2) the recipient was selected without any action on his part to enter the contest or proceedings; and (3) the recipient is not required to render substantial future services as a condition to receiving the prize or award. Thus, such awards as the Nobel prize and the Pulitzer prize would qualify for the exclusion. Section 74(b) does not exclude prizes or awards from an employer to an employee in recognition of some achievement in connection with his employment.
Cross-references
Computed from the citations in the text of 26 CFR.
Code sections it cites
Cited by 2 other regulations
Where it sits in 26 CFR
- Subchapter A Income tax
- Part 1 Income taxes
- Items Specifically Included in Gross Income
Nearby sections
- § 1.72-18 Treatment of certain total distributions with respect to self-employed individuals.
- § 1.72(e)-1T Treatment of distributions where substantially all contributions are employee contributions (temporary).
- § 1.72(p)-1 Loans treated as distributions.
- § 1.73-1 Services of child.
- § 1.74-1 Prizes and awards.
- § 1.75-1 Treatment of bond premiums in case of dealers in tax-exempt securities.
- § 1.77-1 Election to consider Commodity Credit Corporation loans as income.
- § 1.77-2 Effect of election to consider commodity credit loans as income.
- § 1.78-1 Gross up for deemed paid foreign tax credit.