Spelling Bee Prize Money: What the Champion Takes Home

Spelling bee prize money at the national level comes down to one headline number: $50,000 in cash from Scripps for the champion, plus a $2,500 award from Merriam-Webster, for a combined cash total of $52,500. That’s according to the official prize list published at spellingbee.com, the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s own site.

The 2026 champion, 14-year-old Shrey Parikh of Rancho Cucamonga, California, took home that package after winning on the word bromocriptine in a spell-off, according to Scripps’ own press release and reporting from NPR and CBS News. He beat Ishaan Gupta of Jersey City, New Jersey, spelling 32 of 35 words correctly in 90 seconds — a spell-off record.

But the champion isn’t the only one paid. Scripps publishes a full payout ladder down through the finals, and dozens of spellers leave Washington with a check. Below is how the spelling bee prize money actually breaks down, where it comes from, how it has changed over 100 years, and a few facts about the money that surprise almost everyone.

The exact spelling bee prize money for 2026

Here’s what Scripps publishes on its official prizes page. The champion’s $50,000 is the cash award from Scripps itself. Merriam-Webster adds $2,500 and a reference library. Encyclopaedia Britannica adds $400 in reference works, a replica 1768 Britannica set, and a three-year Britannica Online membership. Delta Air Lines contributes $1,000 in flight credits.

The champion’s school isn’t left out either. Scripps lists commemorative plaques, a five-year subscription to the News-O-Matic reading app, and $1,000 in Scholastic Dollars for classroom materials going to the winner’s school.

Why second place is such a steep drop

The gap between first and second is the single most striking thing about spelling bee prize money. First place gets $50,000 from Scripps. Second gets $25,000 — exactly half. Third gets $15,000, fourth gets $10,000, fifth gets $5,000, and sixth gets $2,500.

That structure is common in single-elimination competitions, where the final round decides everything. In practice, one misspelled word can be a $25,000 swing. In a spell-off, where two spellers race the clock, the difference can come down to a handful of seconds.

The runner-up in 2026, Ishaan Gupta, spelled 25 of 29 words correctly in his spell-off round — a performance that would have won most years, per Scripps’ account of the record set in 2024.

The 2019 year eight kids each won full spelling bee prize money

This is the fact casual readers enjoy most. In 2019, the Scripps National Spelling Bee ran out of words. After 20 rounds and five consecutive perfect rounds, eight spellers were still standing, and officials declared all eight co-champions. As CBS News and PBS reported at the time, the group nicknamed themselves the “octochamps.”

Scripps did not split the pot. Each of the eight received the full $50,000 champion’s prize, meaning the bee paid out $400,000 in champion-level spelling bee prize money in a single night. That had never happened before, and the rules were later changed to add tiebreaker formats.

One consequence of all those ties: the count of champions no longer matches the count of bees. Shrey Parikh is the 111th champion, but 2026 was the 98th bee — the difference comes from repeated two-way ties plus that eight-way finish.

How the prize grew from $500 in gold

The first national bee was held on June 17, 1925, in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Louisville Courier-Journal. Eleven-year-old Frank Neuhauser won by spelling gladiolus. His prize, as recounted in his Washington Post obituary, was $500 in gold, a bicycle, and a trip to the White House to meet President Calvin Coolidge.

Nine finalists competed that year. The 2026 field had 247 spellers, according to Scripps’ press release, with 169 of them appearing on the national stage for the first time. The competition ran May 26–28 at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

So the top spelling bee prize money went from $500 to $50,000 over roughly a century — a hundredfold increase in nominal dollars, alongside a field that grew from nine kids to more than 240.

What happens to spelling bee prize money at tax time

Prize money is not a gift under federal tax rules. The IRS states plainly that if you win a prize in a drawing, quiz program, contest, or similar event, you must include it in your income. That guidance appears in IRS Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income.

The IRS also notes that when an award payment is $600 or more in a year, the recipient should receive a Form 1099-MISC showing the amount in Box 3, “Other Income.” The IRS directs filers to report it on line 8i of Schedule 1 (Form 1040).

Non-cash prizes count too. The IRS says that if the prize is goods or services, you include the fair market value in income. How any of that applies to a specific winner — a minor, a family filing jointly, a state’s own rules — depends on the situation, and the IRS is the authority to check at irs.gov.

Getting to the stage costs money too

The spelling bee prize money is real, but so is the road to it. Spellers qualify through local and regional bees, which ran through late March for the 2026 competition, per Scripps. Regional sponsors — often local newspapers and TV stations — typically cover a winner’s trip to nationals, though arrangements vary by region.

Scripps also runs a paid alternate qualifying path in some years for spellers whose region isn’t covered. Families commonly report spending on study materials, coaching, and travel. None of that is reimbursed by the national prize structure unless the speller places.

That’s why the ladder matters: with sixth place at $2,500 and even a first-round finals exit paying $2,000, spelling bee prize money reaches well beyond the one kid holding the trophy.

How the spelling bee prize money compares to other kid competitions

Fifty thousand dollars puts the Scripps champion near the top among nationally televised youth academic contests. It’s a single lump sum rather than a restricted scholarship, which means the family decides how it’s used — unlike many scholarship awards that pay a school directly.

The televised reach helps explain the sponsor money. Merriam-Webster, Britannica, and Delta all attach their names to the prize package, which is why the champion’s cash figure ($52,500) is higher than the number Scripps alone puts up ($50,000).

If you see a different number quoted, check the year. Prize amounts and sponsor contributions have shifted over time, and spellingbee.com’s prizes page is the official current list.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much spelling bee prize money does the champion get in 2026?

$50,000 in cash from Scripps plus $2,500 from Merriam-Webster, for $52,500 total cash, per the official spellingbee.com prizes page. The champion also receives Britannica reference works valued at $400, a replica 1768 Britannica set, a trophy and medal, and $1,000 in Delta flight credits.

Who won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee?

Shrey Parikh, 14, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, won on the word bromocriptine, according to Scripps’ press release and NPR. He clinched it in a spell-off, correctly spelling 32 of 35 words in 90 seconds — beating the prior spell-off record of 29 of 30, set by Bruhat Soma in 2024.

Do spellers who don’t win get any money?

Yes. Scripps publishes a full ladder: $25,000 for second, $15,000 for third, $10,000 for fourth, $5,000 for fifth, and $2,500 for sixth. Spellers eliminated in the first round of the finals receive $2,000 each. Those figures come from the official Scripps prize list.

Is spelling bee prize money taxable?

The IRS says prizes and awards from contests are generally included in income, and that awards of $600 or more usually generate a Form 1099-MISC with the amount in Box 3. Publication 525 covers the details. How the rules apply to any individual winner depends on their circumstances, so irs.gov is the place to check.

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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.

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