Are Mr Beast giveaways considered a gift from him or gambling winnings for tax purposes?

Great question! The tax treatment depends on the exact nature of how the money was given. When Mr Beast gives money as part of a challenge or competition where participants had to DO something to win (stay in a circle, last to leave, etc.), the IRS would generally classify that as prize/contest winnings - not gambling winnings. These would be reported on your tax return as "Other Income" and would be fully taxable at your normal income tax rates. If he literally just walks up to someone randomly and hands them money with absolutely no conditions or requirements, it could potentially qualify as a gift. However, this is actually complicated because the way these videos work, being in the video itself could be considered a "service" - meaning the money isn't truly a "gift" in the IRS's eyes. It's important to know that true gifts aren't taxable to the recipient - the gift tax obligation falls on the giver for amounts over the annual exclusion (currently $17,000 per recipient). But social media giveaways rarely meet the IRS definition of a gift.

I literally just dealt with this! Last year I was in a viral giveaway (not Mr Beast but similar concept) and won $25,000. I used taxr.ai to figure out my tax situation because I was SO confused about how to report it. The company's tax analysis tool at https://taxr.ai helped me review all my documents and figure out exactly how to report it. Basically they confirmed it counted as "Other Income" on my taxes, not a gift. They explained that even though it felt like a gift since I was just randomly selected, because I appeared in the video (even for just like 30 seconds), the IRS considers that as me providing a "service" by being content for the video. The creator didn't send me a 1099 which made everything MORE confusing, but the tool helped me report it correctly anyway.

So I was really skeptical about taxr.ai (see my comment above), but I ended up trying it for my streaming donations situation which is kinda similar to giveaways tax-wise. It actually worked pretty well! The system analyzed all my payment records and donation receipts and explained exactly how to categorize everything. The coolest thing was it found some deductions related to my streaming equipment I didn't know I could take since some of my income came from these donation/gift situations. Saved me from making some mistakes that might have triggered an audit. I'm still using an accountant for my final filing but this really helped me get everything organized first.

If anyone's dealing with questions about this and needs to talk to the IRS directly - good luck lol. I tried calling them for WEEKS about a similar prize winning situation and couldn't get through. Finally used https://claimyr.com (you can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and got through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. Turns out the creator who gave me $10,000 in a challenge video should have issued me a 1099 but didn't. The IRS agent explained exactly how to report it without the form and what documentation I needed to keep. Saved me months of stress and potential penalties. I was shocked it actually worked because I'd literally tried calling 15+ times on my own.

Ok I need to update my comment above where I was skeptical about Claimyr. I actually tried it yesterday after continuing to fail getting through to the IRS on my own. I got a callback within 45 minutes and talked to an actual IRS person! I explained my situation with a $15k giveaway prize I won and they confirmed what others are saying here - it's taxable income that needs to be reported even if you don't receive a 1099. They also told me the creator should have withheld 24% for federal taxes but most don't. I'm setting aside 30% of the money now for taxes next year. Definitely recommend calling if you're confused about your specific situation because every giveaway is structured differently.

Something important nobody mentioned yet - keep VERY detailed records of how and when you received the money! I won $20k in a challenge last year and didn't get ANY tax forms from the creator. When I filed my taxes honestly and reported it as income, I got a letter from the IRS questioning it because they had no record of the payment. Had to provide bank statements showing the deposit, screenshots of the video I appeared in, and a timeline of events. Eventually got resolved but was super stressful. These creators often run these huge giveaways without understanding their tax obligations as the payer.

I'm friends with someone who works in accounting for a big YouTuber (not Mr Beast but similar size) and they said EVERYTHING they give away is considered taxable - even small stuff. Apparently the production company issues 1099-MISC forms for all prizes over $600 and they actually collect W-9 forms from winners before giving them the money. According to my friend, they've had people REFUSE prize money when they learn about the tax implications. Like someone winning $10,000 might actually only keep $6-7k after taxes depending on their tax bracket, and some people get mad about that lol.

This is such a timely question! I actually work as a tax preparer and see this situation more often now with all the social media giveaways. The key distinction everyone's touching on is whether it's truly a "gift" versus compensation for services. The IRS has pretty strict criteria for what qualifies as a gift - it has to be made out of "detached and disinterested generosity" with no expectation of benefit to the giver. The moment you appear in a video, even briefly, you're providing promotional value to the creator, which disqualifies it from being a gift. One thing I'd add that I haven't seen mentioned - if you win a large amount (like $100k), you might want to consider making quarterly estimated tax payments instead of waiting until next year's filing. The IRS can charge underpayment penalties if you owe more than $1,000 when you file, especially on a large windfall like that. Also, state taxes vary widely on prize winnings - some states don't tax them at all, others treat them as regular income. Definitely worth checking your state's specific rules too!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is what happens if you're under 18 when you win. My 16-year-old cousin won $8,000 from a TikTok challenge last year and we had no idea how to handle it tax-wise since minors usually don't file their own returns. Turns out that prize winnings are still taxable income for minors, and if it's over the standard deduction threshold, they need to file their own return (or their parents can include it on theirs in some cases). The creator actually required a parent to sign all the paperwork before releasing the money, which was smart on their part. Also learned that minors can't enter into legal contracts in most states, so technically a lot of these giveaways might not even be legally binding if the winner is under 18. But most creators just require parental consent to avoid issues. Just something to keep in mind for anyone with kids who might win these things!