Everyone’s happy to hear about the 16 year old North Texan who braved a tornado to avoid missing his job interview @ a local Whataburger, but it’s what happened after he survived the tornado that is more interesting. That red Silverado pickup in the video belonged to his father. Somehow the storm righted the truck long enough for him to drive away, which showed good thinking on young Riley’s part.

What happened next? A local Chevrolet dealership announced that they’re going to gift the young man a brand new Chevy Silverado pick-up truck for all his trouble. But why? Well, for one thing GM which makes Chevy pick-up trucks can now somehow claim that they’re storm-proof, Chevy tough? Lol! Who the hell knows but I know this, Chevy Silverados even partially decked out cost more than $45,000. Not many a 16 yr. old is going to have that in their budget. But that’s not all, the same Chevrolet dealership announced that they will also gift this youngster with a check for $15,000 in cash. Hmmm, I wonder why? Just because he survived a tornado? No. Okay, maybe because he ruined his Dad’s own Silverado pick-up? No. Okay, then why?

The correct answer has to do with the IRS. When you gift someone an item worth North of $45,000 there are tax implications that go along with that in the year it was gifted. It’s basically the same law that governs when you walk away from a large loan such as a mortgage. The IRS views any act of relief of a debt owed as a “gift” and therefore taxes these incidences [that is in excess of the annual gift tax minimum which is $15,000 in any calendar year]. Back in the day of sweepstakes and television contest shows anyone who received an automobile as a gift would often sell the vehicle just to avoid having to pay the taxes on such sizable gifts, then they could pocket the rest… at least that was the smartest thing to do back then.

So Riley receives the annual gift tax maximum of $15,000 in the form of a check (nontaxable), plus he receives a new automobile that will surely come with taxes due, most probably in the range between $5-10K. At least this way he and his parents won’t have to sell the new truck to satisfy the IRS taxes?