It's essential for "The Price is Right" fans to realize that winners don't walk out with what they win that day. Debra Fields won a car on the show and unveiled what one must go through to get their prizes in an interview with App. "After the show is over and you see your prizes, you fill out a form, and it explains exactly what you won and that you have to pay California income tax on your prizes. You see the form, you sign it. And they say, approximately one week before the show airs, you'll receive a letter from accounting and you'll see the amount that you owe. And then after the show airs, you can send in your certified check." Aurora De Lucia, who also won a vehicle, revealed, "the show's paperwork stipulates they have 90 days to make arrangements, with the winner given ten days to collect the vehicle once they've been notified it's available" (via Mental Floss).
Whether contestants win a car, boat, a fancy vacation, or anything in between, they must ensure they can pay the taxes before the process of receiving their prizes after the entry releases can begin (via The New York Times). According to the show's schedule, episodes are taped several weeks before they air. So people could be waiting almost a month to get the bill for the stuff they won, pay it, and then wait for the show to take the necessary steps of sending the goods during the time frame allotted in the contracts. To the victor goes the spoils, but in the case of "The Price is Right," there is a lengthy process those that are triumphant must endure.
