St. Jude Dream Home Winners: How the Charity Raffle Works Out

The St Jude Dream Home Giveaway is one of the largest charity raffles in the country, and the short answer to what happens to winners is this: they get a real house, a real tax bill, and a real decision to make. Tickets are $100 each, proceeds go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the winner walks away with a fully built, furnished home worth anywhere from about $450,000 to more than $700,000 depending on the market.

What most people don’t picture is the part that comes after the on-air phone call. According to St. Jude’s own Dream Home FAQ, the approximate retail value of the home counts as income for the year you win it, the organization issues you a Form 1099, and taxes on prizes valued above $5,000 have to be handled before the house is transferred. That single rule shapes almost every winner story that follows.

Below are documented outcomes from real winners, drawn from local news reporting and official program rules — who kept the house, who sold it, and one man who gave it back.

How the St Jude Dream Home raffle actually works

The program launched in 1991 in Louisiana with a single house that drew about $160,000 in donations, according to St. Jude’s published account of the campaign’s history. It has since expanded to more than 40 cities. Local builders donate labor and materials, a TV station partner promotes the giveaway, and a fixed number of $100 tickets go on sale.

Because the ticket supply is capped by city, your odds depend entirely on how many tickets that market prints. In Louisville in 2022, WDRB reported tickets sold out and raised $700,000 for the hospital. Sellouts are common, which is why entering early matters more than any strategy.

The winner is drawn live, usually on the partner station. There is no cash option in the standard rules — the prize is the house.

The tax bill is the part nobody warns you about

Under IRS Publication 525, if a prize comes as property rather than cash, you include its fair market value in your income. A $500,000 house is treated much like a $500,000 bonus. Your income for that year jumps, and so can your tax bracket.

The IRS also publishes Notice 1340, “Tax-Exempt Organizations and Raffle Prizes,” which explains how withholding works when a charity awards a noncash prize. Separately, the current backup withholding rate on certain winnings is 24% when a correct taxpayer ID isn’t provided. St. Jude’s FAQ states plainly that prize taxes must be satisfied before the hospital can deliver the home.

That is not a loophole or a catch — it is standard federal treatment of prize income. What it means practically is that winners need a plan for a six-figure obligation before they get the keys. St. Jude tells winners to consult their own tax professional, and that is the right call for anyone in that position.

The winner who gave the house back

In August 2024, Mark Bounds of Madison, Mississippi, won a $500,000 home in Flowood in the Jackson-area St Jude Dream Home Giveaway after buying a single $100 ticket. As reported by WLBT, Bounds closed on the house, took ownership, and paid all taxes and fees associated with the prize.

Then he did something the program had never seen. In January 2025, WLBT reported that Bounds donated the house back to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital — in memory of his mother and her love for children. Program officials told the station it was the first time in more than 30 years of the Dream Home campaign that a winner had returned the home.

St. Jude planned to sell the four-bedroom, three-bath property and put the proceeds toward the hospital’s mission. One $100 ticket effectively funded the hospital twice.

Winners who sold, and winners who moved in

Selling is a common outcome, and it isn’t a scandal — it’s math. In the 2022 Louisville giveaway, Amy Ward of Mount Washington, Kentucky won the home in her own town, roughly a mile and a half from where she already lived. WDRB covered her tour of the house, where she described standing up, screaming, and running outside to tell a neighbor she’d won a house.

The Pioneer News later reported that Ward decided to sell the Dream Home. For a winner who already owns a house nearby, carrying two properties plus a prize tax bill often isn’t realistic.

Other winners move in. In 2024, WWBT reported that Nathan Cunningham, a Midlothian, Virginia husband and father of two, walked through his new home and said it exceeded expectations, with his daughter picking out her bedroom on the first visit. In San Antonio, News 4 reported that Emiliano Guerrero — who won a prior year’s home — said he still pinches himself twice a day, and that he initially thought the winning call was a joke.

What a St Jude Dream Home is worth in 2025 and 2026

Home values have climbed with the market. FOX 2 in St. Louis reported a 2026 St Jude Dream Home valued at $735,000, up from a $650,000 house in an earlier St. Louis giveaway. News 4 San Antonio reported that Dan Perez of Poteet, Texas won a Spring Branch home valued at close to $700,000, and said he wanted a nice house where he and his older father could live together.

Here is how a few recent documented prizes compare:

A higher home value is a bigger prize and a bigger reported income figure. Both scale together.

Is the St Jude Dream Home Giveaway legitimate?

Yes. The St Jude Dream Home Giveaway is run by ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a registered charity, with published official rules for each city, licensed builders, and winners drawn on live local television. Ticket buyers can read the terms for their market before purchasing.

What you should watch for is imposters. Scammers routinely borrow well-known charity and sweepstakes names to contact people with fake win notices. The FTC’s guidance on prize scams is consistent on one point: a legitimate prize never requires you to send money to a stranger to claim it. Real St Jude Dream Home winners are drawn from tickets they bought themselves and are contacted through the official program.

What winners can learn from these stories

The documented outcomes share a pattern. Every winner above received the same prize, and the differences came down to circumstances already in place before the drawing — whether they owned another home, how close the house was to work and family, and how they handled the tax obligation the program discloses up front in its FAQ.

Bounds paid the taxes and fees, then gave the property back. Ward sold. Cunningham and Perez moved in. All four are recorded, ordinary outcomes of the same raffle, and none of them required luck twice.

The other consistent detail: several winners, including buyers who had supported the campaign for years, said they had all but forgotten about the ticket. The rules, the tax treatment, and the values are published in advance by St. Jude and the IRS. Reading them is the only part of a St Jude Dream Home win that a person can control.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do St Jude Dream Home winners have to pay taxes?

Yes. St. Jude’s Dream Home FAQ states the home’s approximate retail value is income for the year you win, a 1099 is issued, and taxes on prizes over $5,000 must be handled before delivery. IRS Publication 525 treats noncash prizes at fair market value. Talk to a tax professional about your own situation.

Can you take cash instead of the house?

The standard St Jude Dream Home prize is the home itself, not a cash alternative. Each city publishes its own official rules, so read the terms for your specific giveaway before buying a ticket.

How much does a ticket cost and where does the money go?

Tickets are $100 each and proceeds support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where families are not billed for treatment, travel, housing, or food. Tickets frequently sell out — Louisville’s 2022 giveaway raised $700,000, per WDRB.

Has anyone ever given the house back?

Once, publicly. WLBT reported that 2024 Jackson-area winner Mark Bounds closed on his $500,000 Flowood home, paid the taxes and fees, and donated it back to St. Jude in memory of his mother — a first in the campaign’s history.

Know the Rules Where You Live

Sweepstakes and prize rules change from state to state — what a sponsor can offer, how prizes are handled, and what protections you have. Pick your state to see the exact rules that apply where you live.

See Sweepstakes Laws in All 50 States →

Sources & How to Verify

The facts on this page are drawn from official government and primary sources. Rules and figures change, so always confirm the current details with the official agency or the promotion’s own published rules.

• FTC Consumer Advice: consumer.ftc.gov — prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scam guidance
• IRS: irs.gov — how prizes and winnings are treated as income
• Social Security Administration: ssa.gov — what SSI recipients must report
• The promotion’s official rules: every legitimate sweepstakes publishes them — the rules page is always the final word

Content last reviewed August 2026. If you notice outdated information, please contact us.

Related Guides

• Sweepstakes Laws by State (50-State Guide)
• More in This Category
• Sweepstakes Resources
• Scam Checks
• Sweepstakes Tax Calculator
• All Active Sweepstakes

Informational only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Win Big Daily is an independent educational resource. Prize rules, tax treatment, and benefit-program requirements vary by state and program and change over time, so always verify the current details with the official agency, the promotion’s published rules, or a qualified professional before acting. If a topic involves government benefits, contact the program office about your specific situation.