The winner is then notified, usually by an ambush-style announcement where representatives of the Scripps Networks show up at the winner’s home, place of business, or family gathering. However, winners can also be notified by registered mail.

According to HGTV, only one of the first 10 Dream House winners has been able to hang on to their winnings. Just six of the first 21 winners actually lived in their new digs for more than a year. The longest “survivor,” the 1998 winner, kept her dream home in Florida for eight years before selling it.

Last month, HGTV announced that Jeff Yanes of Kyle, Texas was the winner of the 2021 Dream Home Sweepstakes. But despite its beauty and Yane’s diligent efforts (for the past six years he entered the HGTV Home Giveaways giveaway twice daily), he is parting ways with his highly-coveted grand prize.

You’d be better off keeping that $60 in your pocket. By entering every day online, you bring your odds of winning from “impossible” to one in 1.35 million.

Congratulations to Susan O’Gorman of Perry, Georgia; she is the winner of the HGTV® Dream Home 2020 sweepstakes, a grand prize package valued at over $2 million dollars. …

Newport, Rhode Island

3,300 square feet

The HGTV Dream Home Giveaway is an annual sweepstakes from the Scripps Network’s Home and Garden Television channel, which has run since 1997. Every year, HGTV uses a series of HGTV Dream Home television specials to showcase a gorgeous new home that their experts have built, then give it away.

In lieu of taking title to the HGTV Dream Home 2021 (and the contents of the HGTV Dream Home 2021), the Grand Prize Winner will have the option of receiving Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000) in cash (the “Cash Option”).

$1.1 million

THE ANSWER: No, it’s not a scam, but according to the company’s website, your odds of winning the Publishers Clearing House grand prize is one in 6.2 billion.

Congratulations to Fannie Allen of Tucson, Arizona! She is the winner of HGTV Urban Oasis® 2019, a grand prize package valued at over $700,000. Fannie’s name was randomly drawn from over 69 million entries to the sweepstakes. She has faithfully been entering all of the HGTV and DIY Network sweepstakes for years.

She is our proud winner of the HGTV Urban Oasis® 2018, a grand prize package valued at over $750,000.

If you win a house in a contest, you’ll have to pay federal income tax on its value. Also, depending on your state, you may have to pay state income tax on any house you happen to win in a contest. Under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules, any prizes won in contests are taxable at the marginal tax rate.

Capital gains tax may be applied to any proceeds you get from selling a house or a car you get from lotteries and draws. If you sell a car or a house you won from a draw, the proceeds from the sale is subject to capital gains tax.

The Cost of Winning a House After winning a home, you’ll be responsible for paying the federal income tax based on the value of the home. And as with any prize, you’ll be paying those taxes at the full marginal tax rate because the value of the prize is reported on Form 1040 as other income.

The top prize of $1,000 a day, FOR LIFE is paid weekly and the second prize is $25,000 a year, FOR LIFE paid yearly. In some cases, these prizes may be paid on a split-prize liability and will be lower than these published prize levels. Refer to your state’s official game rules for a detailed explanation.