Oregon lottery tax in 2026: what the state takes from a prize
Oregon taxes lottery prizes as ordinary income, up to 9.9 %, and it also taxes nonresidents who win on an Oregon ticket.
- Top Oregon rate
- 9.9 %
- State withholding
- 8 % from $1,500
- Small-prize exemption
- $600 or less per ticket
- Federal withholding
- 24 %
State and local tax, ticket bought in Oregon
$196,015
Bought at home in Washington: $0. Difference: $196,015.
| Prize this year | $2,000,000 |
| Federal income tax (top rate reached 37 %) | $707,180 |
| Oregon tax as a nonresident | $196,015 |
| Washington tax | none |
| Withheld when the prize is paid | $640,000 |
| Still to pay with the return | $263,195 |
| After all taxes | $1,096,805 |
Oregon taxes nonresidents on prizes of its lottery over $600. Washington has no personal income tax on a lottery prize.
Compiled by Radif Partners · How we calculate · brackets, state rates and lottery rules read on official sites · estimate, not tax advice
A single Oregon resident who wins $2,000,000 on an Oregon Lottery ticket in 2026 owes Oregon about $197,219, because almost the whole prize lands in the 9.9 % bracket that starts at $125,000 of taxable income ($250,000 for a joint return). Federal tax adds $707,180, which leaves $1,095,601. At the claim the Oregon Lottery withholds 8 % for the state on prizes from $1,500, so $160,000 here, and 24 % for the IRS; the rest is due with the return. A Washington resident who crosses the Columbia to buy the ticket still owes Oregon $196,015 as a nonresident, with nothing to pay at home. Oregon Lottery winnings of $600 or less per ticket are not taxed by Oregon at all.
Your Oregon prize after state and federal tax
Lump sum after all taxes
$1,095,601
| Prize this year | $2,000,000 |
| Federal income tax (top rate reached 37 %) | $707,180 |
| Oregon tax | $197,219 |
| Withheld when the prize is paid | $640,000 |
Four brackets, and a prize lives in the last one
Oregon has one of the highest top rates in the country and reaches it early. The 2026 withholding formulas of the Department of Revenue, which carry the inflation-adjusted amounts for the year, list four rates: 4.75 %, 6.75 %, 8.75 % and 9.9 % (Oregon DOR, 2026 withholding tax formulas). The top rate applies above $125,000 for a single filer and $250,000 for a couple; those two thresholds are not indexed, while the lower ones are. The standard deduction for 2026 is $2,910 single and $5,820 joint, which barely moves the result on a large prize.
9.9 % is therefore close to the real Oregon rate on any prize above a few hundred thousand dollars. On the $2,000,000 example the state tax is 9.9 % of the prize. A married couple with $110,000 of salaries pays $196,323 to Oregon on the same prize, a little less because more of it stays under the joint threshold. The personal exemption credit of the formulas vanishes at these income levels, so it plays no part.
| Winner, ticket bought in | Federal | Oregon | Other state | Kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon single, Oregon | $707,180 | $197,219 | $0 | $1,095,601 |
| Oregon couple, Oregon | $682,111 | $196,323 | $0 | $1,121,566 |
| Washington single, Oregon | $707,180 | $196,015 | $0 | $1,096,805 |
| Oregon single, Idaho | $707,180 | $91,219 | $106,000 | $1,095,601 |
| Oregon single, Indiana | $707,180 | $197,219 | $0 | $1,095,601 |
The claim: what the Oregon Lottery holds back
The Oregon Lottery withholds 8 % of state tax on every prize of $1,500 or more (Oregon Lottery, claim a prize). On Video Lottery prizes only that state tax is taken. The rate is the same for a resident and a nonresident, and it sits well below the 9.9 % that a large prize really owes. On the example the claim leaves $37,219 of Oregon tax to pay later, on top of $227,180 for the IRS. Winners who claim early in the year often settle part of it with estimated payments, since the federal and Oregon underpayment rules both look at the quarter of the income. A $40,000 scratch prize is withheld $3,200 for Oregon and owes $3,500, so even a mid-size win usually ends with a balance.
Across the Columbia: Washington and Idaho buyers
Many Vancouver and Clark County residents shop in Portland, and some buy their tickets there. Oregon taxes them. The state treats Oregon Lottery winnings as Oregon-source income of nonresidents, the Oregon Lottery being games of the Oregon State Lottery Commission bought in Oregon, multistate games like Powerball included. Washington has no individual income tax in 2026, so nothing offsets the Oregon bill: the Washington winner of the example pays Oregon $196,015 and nothing at home. A ticket bought ten minutes north, in Washington, would have carried no state tax at all. Washington has passed a tax on very high incomes that starts in 2028; the Washington page follows it.
The reverse case is an Oregonian who buys in Idaho. Idaho taxes nonresidents on its lottery prizes, Oregon taxes its residents on winnings from everywhere, and Oregon gives a credit for the Idaho tax under credit code 802 of Schedule OR-ASC, limited to income both states had the right to tax. In the table the Oregon line falls to $91,219 because Idaho's $106,000 is credited. How the credit for tax paid to another state works covers the limits.
The reverse credit: Indiana, Virginia, Arizona and California tickets
Oregon departs from the usual pattern with four states. When the other state is Arizona, California, Indiana or Virginia, the Oregon resident does not take the credit at home; the credit is claimed on that state's nonresident return, against its tax. The Indiana line shows the effect: Oregon keeps its full $197,219, and Indiana's reverse credit absorbs its own nonresident tax, leaving $0. If the other state refuses, Oregon's guide says to amend the Oregon return to claim the credit there. California does not tax nonresidents on California Lottery prizes in the first place, so for an Oregonian holding a California ticket the question does not arise.
Portland area taxes and the small-prize rule
Residents of the Portland area face two local income taxes administered by the City of Portland: the Metro Supportive Housing Services tax and the Multnomah County Preschool for All tax (Portland Revenue Division). Both start above high income thresholds and use Oregon taxable income for residents, so a large prize would normally cross them, but the official page does not mention lottery or gambling winnings, and this site does not add them to its figures. A winner in Portland, Beaverton or Gresham can check with the Revenue Division before filing.
At the other end of the scale, Oregon Lottery winnings of $600 or less per ticket or play are subtracted on the Oregon return, for residents and nonresidents alike; a prize above that amount is taxed in full, not only on the excess. Gambling losses can be itemized on Schedule OR-A, but only against gambling winnings that Oregon actually taxes. Whether the federal limit of losses to 90 % of their amount carries into Oregon for 2026 is not stated in the official sources read for this page.
These figures are estimates on the 2026 rules, not tax advice. Lottery play is entertainment with a cost; free, confidential help is available at 1-800-MY-RESET, the National Problem Gambling Helpline (NCPG).