Unlike lottery winners or Nobel Laureates, Canada’s returning Olympic champions will need to claim their medals for Revenue Canada.

Despite the Olympics being classified as amateur sport, all government prize money awarded to Canadian Olympic athletes is taxable under the Canadian Income Tax Act.

The situation is similar in the United States, although last week, Senator Marco Rubio introduced legislation to exempt American athletes from paying taxes on their winnings.

Canadian Olympic medalists receive $20,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze through the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athlete Excellence Fund.