Teacher raised $41,000 to help local families hurt by COVID-19. He now owes $16,000 in taxes.

Louis Goffinet, a 27-year-old teacher in Connecticut, said he started a fundraiser a year ago to aid local families affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The campaign was a smashing success, collecting more than $41,000 to help them pay for groceries, meals and rental assistance.

But Goffinet said he recently learned of a downside to his efforts: He now owes $16,031 in personal income tax on the funds he raised via Facebook Fundraisers.  "After consulting with several tax professionals, the unanimous consensus seems to be that I am responsible for paying income tax on the funds I was able to raise through Facebook," Goffinet wrote in a Facebook post.