Florida lottery tax in 2026: who still pays
Florida exempts every prize of its lottery from state and local tax, and has no personal income tax for its residents. The exemption stops at the winner's own home state, which is where visitors and part-year Floridians meet a bill.
- Florida tax on a Florida Lottery prize
- none
- Florida state withholding
- none
- Federal withholding
- 24 %
- Georgia withholding on a Floridian
- 4.99 %
State and local tax, ticket bought in Florida
$75,000
Alabama sells no lottery tickets: every jackpot its residents win comes from another state.
| Prize this year | $1,500,000 |
| Federal income tax (top rate reached 37 %) | $487,111 |
| Florida tax as a nonresident | none |
| Alabama tax | $75,000 |
| Withheld when the prize is paid | $360,000 |
| Still to pay with the return | $202,111 |
| After all taxes | $937,890 |
Florida does not tax a nonresident on this prize.
Compiled by Radif Partners · How we calculate · brackets, state rates and lottery rules read on official sites · estimate, not tax advice
Section 24.122 of the Florida Statutes exempts prizes of the Florida Lottery from all state and local taxes, and Florida has no personal income tax on its residents in any case, so a Florida resident who wins on a Florida ticket pays only federal tax. A married couple from Tampa with $70,000 of wages who win $1,500,000 owe $487,111 federally and keep $1,012,890. The exemption protects the prize from Florida, not from the winner's home state. An Alabama couple who drove south for the same ticket owes Alabama $75,000, a Georgia couple owes Georgia $74,850, and a New York couple wintering in Naples while still New York residents owes New York $99,887, all with no credit since Florida took nothing. Floridians who play in Georgia face the opposite case: Georgia taxes them as nonresidents and withholds 4.99 %, $74,850 on that prize.
A visitor with a Florida ticket
State and local tax, ticket bought in Florida
$75,000
| Prize this year | $1,500,000 |
| Federal income tax (top rate reached 37 %) | $487,111 |
| Florida tax as a nonresident | none |
| Alabama tax | $75,000 |
The statute and the constitution
Two texts settle the Florida side. The lottery statute says prizes of the Florida Lottery are exempt from state and local taxes (Florida Statutes, section 24.122), and the Department of Revenue confirms there is no personal income tax return to file (Florida Department of Revenue), in line with the limits set by the state constitution (Florida Constitution, Article VII). There is consequently no Florida withholding at the claim, no Florida return, no county or city levy. The lottery still withholds 24 % for the IRS on any prize over $5,000 and issues a Form W-2G.
For a Florida resident the whole tax is federal. On the $170.3 million cash value of the October 20, 2026 Mega Millions jackpot, a single Floridian with $60,000 of other income owes $62,978,180 and keeps $107,321,820; $22,106,180 of that federal tax is still due after the withholding.
Visitors: the home state decides
Florida sells a large share of its tickets to people who live elsewhere: Alabama, which has no lottery of its own, sends players across the Panhandle line, and northern retirees spend the winter on the Gulf Coast. Florida taxes none of them. Their home state treats the prize as income from another state's lottery, and since no tax was paid to Florida, there is no credit to subtract.
| Winners live in | Florida tax | Home state tax | Federal | Kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | $0 | $0 | $487,111 | $1,012,890 |
| Alabama | $0 | $75,000 | $487,111 | $937,890 |
| Georgia | $0 | $74,850 | $487,111 | $938,040 |
| New York | $0 | $99,887 | $487,111 | $913,003 |
| Ohio | $0 | $41,250 | $487,111 | $971,640 |
| Michigan | $0 | $63,750 | $487,111 | $949,140 |
The New York line assumes the couple are New York residents for tax purposes, wherever they spent the winter. Which state counts as home depends on that state's own residency rules, not on Florida's, and a change of domicile in the middle of a year splits the return. The New York City tax is left out of the table; the New York City page adds it. The table also leaves aside Florida withholding because there is none: the federal withholding is the only cash held back, so the Alabama, Georgia and New York amounts are due in full with the home return or through estimated payments.
Floridians who buy in Georgia
The border cuts the other way for residents of Jacksonville or Tallahassee who play in Georgia. Georgia taxes nonresidents on prizes of its lottery and withholds 4.99 % on prizes over $5,000 (Georgia rule 560-7-8, Georgia DOR residency page). On $1,500,000 that couple owes Georgia $73,420 through a nonresident return and keeps $939,470 instead of $1,012,890 on a Florida ticket. With no Florida income tax, there is no credit at home to recover it. Georgia lottery tax covers the Georgia return.
Annuity payments and moving away
Florida taxes no lottery income, so an annuity paid by the Florida Lottery is never taxed by Florida, before or after a move. The question after a move is what the new home state does: a winner who leaves for a state with an income tax brings the remaining installments into that state's tax in each year of residence there. The reverse, a winner of another state's annuity who moves to Florida, does not always end the other state's claim; New York, for one, keeps taxing installments of its prizes paid to former residents. Moving after winning goes through those cases.
Gambling losses and what is not covered
With no state return, gambling losses only matter on the federal return, where from 2026 they are deductible at 90 % of their amount and up to winnings, for itemizers. A visitor whose home state taxes the prize deducts losses there under that state's own rule. The Florida sources read for this site describe the exemption and the absence of an income tax; they say nothing about a Florida Lottery withholding rate because there is none to set. The amounts on this page are estimates on stated assumptions, not tax advice. Gambling problems are treated confidentially at 1-800-MY-RESET.