Rick Devens could lose almost $300k of his record Big Brother season 28 prize to taxes
He won $810,000
Rick Devens just won $810,000 from Big Brother season 28, the most money any single player has ever won on the show. But after taxes, Rick Devens could lose almost $300k of his record Big Brother season 28 prize.
Devens’ prize money comes from three payouts: $750,000 for winning, $50,000 for America’s Favourite Houseguest, and $10,000 from the Pharaoh’s Curse twist. So, that’s a total of $810,000.
However, after taxes, he’d lose about $277,000. So he’s really only taking home around $530,000. Let’s break it down.
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Devens is from Macon, Georgia, and has been married to his wife, Becca, since 2012, so they likely file their taxes jointly. It’s a single tax return filed by a legally married couple that combines their incomes, deductions, and credits.
Federal income tax would take $210,000 from the $810,000, with an additional $40,000 taken from state tax.
There’s another caveat too. California taxes non-residents on prize money won in the state, so he’d likely owe California around $67,000. Georgia then gives him a credit for that, so he wouldn’t owe the state anything. So, he’s essentially paying California’s higher tax rates than Georgia’s.
These are all figures assuming the prize is his household’s only income. And Devens also works as the Director of Communications for Middle Georgia State University. So, his salary would be included in this and be taxed at around 35 or 37 per cent, knocking down his take-home pay even lower.
Devens also made Big Brother history as the first Survivor player to win the game. He’s a two-time Survivor player from season 38 and season 50. But he’s never won the series before.
On season 50, he finished in seventh place. Devens had one of the most iconic Survivor moments ever, too. He successfully volunteered for a coin flip with Mr Beast where he correctly called heads to win immunity and doubled the season’s grand prize to $2 million.
So he’s no stranger to making record-breaking moves when it comes to the show’s prize funds.