Lottery tax calculator 2026: what the prize leaves after every tax
Type the prize, the state where you live and the state where the ticket was sold. The Powerball example is the $635 million jackpot of the October 21, 2026 drawing, cash value $267.5 million.
Lump sum after all taxes
$168,557,820
37.0 % of the prize goes to tax: $98,942,180. $64,200,000 is withheld at the claim, the rest is due with the 2026 return.
| Prize this year | $267,500,000 |
| Federal income tax (top rate reached 37 %) | $98,942,180 |
| Texas tax | none |
| Withheld when the prize is paid | $64,200,000 |
| Still to pay with the return | $34,742,180 |
Texas has no personal income tax on a lottery prize.
Updated October 20, 2026 · 2026 federal brackets, state rates and lottery rules read on official sites · How the tax is computed · Who publishes this · estimate, not tax advice
A lottery prize is ordinary income. The federal government takes it at the 2026 rates of Rev. Proc. 2025-32, up to 37 % on taxable income over $640,600 for a single filer, but the lottery withholds only 24 % of a prize over $5,000, so a large winner owes the rest with the return. The $267.5 million cash value of the October 21, 2026 Powerball jackpot leaves $168,557,820 to a Texas resident, who pays no state income tax, and $129,028,555 to a New York City resident, who pays state and city tax on top of the federal $98,942,180. The state line matters as much as the jackpot: New York taxes nonresidents on prizes over $5,000 sold in New York, New Jersey then credits that tax to its residents, and Virginia gives no credit at all, so a Virginian who wins $1,000,000 on a Maryland ticket pays $138,554 of state tax instead of $57,500 at home. The annuity spreads the prize over 30 payments that grow 5 % a year, each taxed in its own year.
One $1,000,000 prize, three tickets
$662,820
left after all taxes
- Federal
- $337,180
- State of purchase
- $0
- Home state, after credit
- $0
No state income tax: only the federal tax.
$583,619
left after all taxes
- Federal
- $337,180
- State of purchase
- $66,033
- Home state, after credit
- $13,168
New York taxes the nonresident, New Jersey credits it (Schedule NJ-COJ).
$524,266
left after all taxes
- Federal
- $337,180
- State of purchase
- $81,054
- Home state, after credit
- $57,500
Maryland taxes the nonresident; Virginia gives no credit on lottery winnings.
Single filer with $60,000 of other income, lump sum or one-time prize, 2026 rates. Tickets bought in another state · how the credit works.
The annuity, payment by payment
$635 million paid as one immediate payment and 29 yearly payments, each 5 % larger: dark bars before tax, light bars after federal tax for a Texas resident.
Why the state where the ticket was sold changes the bill
Most calculators ask one question about the state: where you live, or where you won, as if the two were the same. They are not the same for millions of players. Residents of Alabama, Utah, Nevada, Hawaii and Alaska have no lottery at home, so every jackpot they win comes from a ticket bought across a border. Commuters into New York City, people who live near the Pennsylvania, Delaware or Maryland lines, and travelers who buy a ticket when a jackpot passes half a billion dollars all face two state tax systems at once.
The rules are written state by state. New York treats a prize of its lottery as New York income of a nonresident when it exceeds $5,000, and multistate games count only when the winning ticket was bought in New York. New Jersey taxes prizes of its own lottery above $10,000. California and Florida do not tax a nonresident on their lotteries at all. Then the home state steps in: it taxes its residents on all their income, and most of them credit the tax paid to the other state, up to their own tax on the same income. The result is roughly the higher of the two rates, not the sum, except where the credit is missing, as in Virginia, which lists lottery and gambling winnings among the income that does not qualify.
The calculator applies those steps in order: the federal tax at the 2026 rates, the nonresident tax of the state of purchase computed on your whole income and prorated to the prize, the tax of your home state, its credit, and the city or county tax where it applies (New York City, Yonkers, the 24 Maryland counties). The method page gives each formula and its source.
This site does better than the first Google result because it separates the state where you live from the state where the ticket was sold, applies the nonresident rule of the second, the credit of the first and the city or county tax, and taxes each of the 30 annuity payments in its own year at the 2026 federal brackets, where the leading calculators apply one flat state rate, no city tax and an annuity taken as a single block.
Every question, one page each
Jackpots and payouts
Bought in another state
Tax by state
- Lottery tax by state
- California
- New York
- Texas
- Florida
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- Illinois
- Georgia
- North Carolina
- Ohio lottery tax
- Michigan lottery tax
- Arizona lottery tax
- Virginia lottery tax
- Massachusetts
- Washington
- Tennessee
- Indiana
- Connecticut
- Kentucky
- Colorado
- Oregon lottery tax
- Minnesota lottery tax
- Wisconsin lottery tax
- South Carolina lottery tax
- Missouri lottery tax
- Delaware lottery tax
Rules behind the numbers
Federal tax: the 2026 brackets, not the 24 % withholding
A prize is added to your other income of the year and taxed with it at the 2026 rates of Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 10 % to 37 %, the top rate starting at $640,600 of taxable income for a single filer and $768,700 for a married couple filing jointly, after a standard deduction of $16,100 or $32,200. The lottery withholds 24 % on prizes over $5,000 (Form W-2G instructions), which is a prepayment, not the tax. See withholding against the tax due.
Lump sum or annuity
The cash value is what the jackpot pool holds on the drawing day; the advertised jackpot is the sum of the 30 annuity payments it would buy. Taking the cash puts the whole prize in one tax year, nearly all of it at 37 %. The annuity spreads it over 30 years, but each payment is still large enough to reach the top bracket, so the saving on the rate is small; the difference comes from time and from the state you live in each year. Compare both with your own return assumption.
Gambling winnings from 2026: 90 % of losses
From tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, wagering losses can be deducted only at 90 % of their amount and only up to the winnings (Public Law 119-21, section 70114). A gambler who itemizes and breaks even now pays tax on 10 % of his losses. The Form W-2G threshold is $2,000 for 2026. See gambling winnings tax and the 90 % rule.
What the calculator leaves out
The estimate does not model the alternative minimum tax, the net investment income tax on what the prize later earns, itemized deductions other than the standard deduction, charitable gifts, estimated tax penalties, or a change of residence in the middle of a year. Rhode Island's partial loss of its standard deduction between $261,000 and $290,800 of income is not modeled. Prizes are counted in the year they are paid. The lottery that pays the prize and the tax departments decide: this is an estimate, not tax advice.
What winners ask before they claim
Why is the lottery withholding not the tax I will owe?
The lottery withholds a flat 24 % for the IRS on any prize over $5,000. A jackpot pushes almost all of the prize into the 37 % bracket, so the tax due is closer to 37.0 % of the cash value. On the $267.5 million example, $34,742,180 is still owed with the 2026 return, due in April 2027, and estimated payments may be needed to avoid a penalty.
I bought my ticket in another state. Which state taxes the prize?
Often both. The state that sold the ticket can tax a nonresident on prizes of its own lottery, as New York does over $5,000 and New Jersey over $10,000, and your home state taxes all your income. Most home states then give a credit for the other state's tax, up to their own tax on the prize, so you pay roughly the higher of the two rates, not the sum. Virginia is the exception that gives no credit.
Do the 30 annuity payments really grow every year?
Yes. Powerball and Mega Millions both pay one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments, each 5 % larger than the one before, and the 30 payments add up to the advertised jackpot. On $635 million, the first payment is $9,557,661 and the last $39,340,630. Each one is income of the year it is paid, so it is taxed at that year's rates and in the state where you live that year.
Which states do not tax lottery winnings at all?
States with no personal income tax take nothing from a prize: Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Washington, Wyoming, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Nevada and Alaska. California taxes its residents but exempts prizes of the California Lottery; a Californian who wins on a ticket bought in another state is taxed by California, which the calculator applies when you choose a different state of purchase.
Can a group of coworkers split the tax on a pool prize?
Yes, if the claim is filed correctly. The person who collects the prize gives the lottery Form 5754 with the name, taxpayer number and share of each member, and the lottery then issues a separate Form W-2G to each of them. Each member reports only his share, at his own bracket and in his own state. Without the form, the whole prize is reported under one name.
Does the site sell tickets or advise on how to play?
No. The site sells nothing, links to no ticket seller, casino, sportsbook or annuity buyer, and asks for no name or e-mail. It computes the tax on a prize you type, from the federal schedule, the state rates and the lottery rules read on official sites on October 20, 2026. Gambling should stay a paid entertainment; help is free and confidential at 1-800-MY-RESET.
Statutes, IRS pages, state tax and lottery rules behind this page
- IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 tax rate tables and standard deductions
- IRS, Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 (Rev. January 2026)
- Public Law 119-21 (July 4, 2025), section 70114: limitation on wagering losses, IRC 165(d)
- Powerball (Multi-State Lottery Association): FAQs, annuity of 30 payments increasing 5 % a year
- Mega Millions: How to Play, annuity of one payment plus 29 payments each 5 % bigger
- Publication 140-W (10/09) FAQs: New York State Lottery Winners
Compiled by Radif Partners
Independent publisher of lottery and gambling tax estimates built on the Internal Revenue Code, IRS revenue procedures and each state's own tax and lottery rules
Figures checked on · Editorial policy · Contact
Results are estimates built on the 2026 federal brackets, the state rates and lottery rules in force and the figures you type. This is not tax advice: your return, the lottery that pays the prize and the state tax departments decide. We sell no tickets and receive nothing from any lottery, casino, sportsbook, annuity buyer or adviser.
Brackets, withholding rates and state rules in force on 2026, last checked on