Gambling Winnings Tax Rate California
Powerball prizes are subject to tax so it is not just a case of looking at the advertised amounts to see how much money you would receive if you won. The rate of withholding depends on how much you win and the jurisdiction in which you buy your ticket. A federal tax is levied on all winners of prizes greater than $5,000, while many of the participating states apply their own tax on top of this. In addition, some locations, such as New York City, levy a local tax on lottery winnings.
In most cases, the casino will take 25 percent off your winnings for the IRS before paying you. Not all gambling winnings in the amounts above are subject to IRS Form W2-G. W2-G forms are not required for winnings from table games such as blackjack, craps, baccarat, and roulette, regardless of the amount. Withholding on Gambling Winnings. Gambling winnings are subject to withholding for federal income tax at a rate of 24% as of 2020 if you win more than $5,000 from sweepstakes, wagering pools, lotteries, or other wagering transactions, or anytime the winnings are at least 300 times the amount wagered. Gamblingtaxes.ca is dedicated in maximizing the amount a Canadian resident can reclaim from a registered gambling win in the United States. Born from a partnership between professional experts from the worlds of finance and gaming, our company offers an all-in-one solution in order to insure you can recover the maximum from the already deducted amount by the IRS.
You can find out how much tax you might have to pay below. As it is such a complex issue, you should consult a financial expert in the event of a big lottery win so that you're fully aware of your tax obligations.
Federal Taxes on Lottery Winnings
Lottery winnings are treated as income in the United States, so your final tax bill depends on how much money you make in total in a year, not just the amount you win in the lottery. The following table shows the federal tax obligations for a Powerball winner filing as a single taxpayer. The rates you pay may differ depending on your individual circumstances.
| Prize | Federal Tax Obligations |
|---|---|
| $0-$600 | No deductions |
| $600.01 - $5,000 | Winnings must be reported on federal income tax form |
| $5,000.01 and above | 24-37%, depending on prize amount |
Federal tax rules are consistent across the U.S. You do not have to pay tax on any prize up to $600, but you must report your winnings to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if you win an amount between $600.01 and $5,000. You will be issued a W-2G form to complete with your tax returns.
A federal tax of 24 percent will be taken from all prizes above $5,000 (including the jackpot) before you receive your prize money. You may then be eligible for a refund or have to pay more tax when you file your returns, depending on your total income. If you win the jackpot you will be subject to the top federal tax rate of 37 percent. Players who are not U.S. citizens are subject to an initial federal tax payment of 30 percent rather than 24 percent.
Deductions for Gambling Losses
Playing the lottery is classed as gambling as far as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is concerned, which means that you are entitled to a tax deduction on any losses incurred. To file these deductions, you will need to keep an accurate record of your wins and losses, as well as any evidence of them, such as the tickets you bought. You must itemize the deductions on the tax form 1040, obtainable from the IRS website. The losses you deduct cannot exceed your income from all forms of gambling, including but not limited to horse racing, casinos, and raffles.
If you win the jackpot and take the annuity payout, the annual payments will be recorded individually in each tax year, and will count towards your gambling income for that year. This should be taken into consideration when recording wins and losses for tax deduction purposes.
State Taxes
In addition to federal taxes, your Powerball winnings may also be subject to state taxes. It is important to remember that the tax levied on your prize will not only vary by state but also depending on your individual circumstances.
The following table shows the rate of withholding for each participating jurisdiction, along with the threshold for when prizes start to be taxed at a state level.
| State Withholding | Jurisdiction | Threshold for State Tax |
|---|---|---|
| No state tax on lottery prizes | California, Florida, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, U.S Virgin Islands, Washington State, Wyoming | N/A |
| 2.9% | North Dakota | $5,000 |
| 3.07% | Pennsylvania | $5,000 |
| 3.23% | Indiana | Undisclosed |
| 4% | Colorado, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia | $5,000 |
| 4% | Missouri | $600 |
| 4.25% | Michigan | $5,000 |
| 4.95% | Illinois | $1,000 |
| 3-5% | Mississippi | 3% for prizes from $600 to $5,000, 4% for prizes between $5,001 and $10,000, and 5% for prizes above $10,001 |
| 5% | Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska | $5,000 |
| 5% | Kentucky | Undisclosed |
| 5-8% | New Jersey | 5% for prizes above $10,000 and up to $500,000. 8% for prizes above $500,000 |
| 5.5% | North Carolina | Undisclosed |
| 5.75% | Georgia | $5,000 |
| 5.99% | Rhode Island | $5,000 |
| 6% | New Mexico, Vermont | $5,000 |
| 6.5% | West Virginia | $5,000 |
| 6.6% | Delaware | $5,000 |
| 6.9% | Montana | $5,000 |
| 6.92% | Idaho | Undisclosed |
| 6.99% | Connecticut | $5,000 (or winnings of $600 or more that are at least 300 times the amount of the wager placed) |
| 7% | Arkansas | Undisclosed |
| 7% | South Carolina | $500 |
| 7.25% | Minnesota | Undisclosed |
| 7.65% | Wisconsin | $2,000 |
| 8% | Oregon | $1,500 |
| 8.5% | Washington D.C | $5,000 |
| 8.75% | Maryland | $5,000 |
| 8.82% | New York | $5,000 |
Tax Calculator
Use the tax calculator below to calculate how much of your payout you would be taking home following the respective federal and state taxes that are deducted. Just enter the amount you have won and select your state. Then select if this was the jackpot or not, and if it was then choose whether you took the annuity option or cash lump sum.
Local Taxes
In addition to federal and state taxes, many cities, counties and municipalities in the United States levy a local income tax. This can vary greatly depending on the location, but in all cases it will be applied on top of any other income taxes. New York City, for example, applies a local tax of 3.876 percent in addition to the top state income tax rate of 8.82 percent and the top federal rate of 37 percent.
This means that a New York resident who opts for the cash lump sum payout of Powerball’s starting jackpot will end up with a final payout of roughly $8.4 million, just 42 percent of the advertised $20 million (*During the Coronavirus pandemic, the starting jackpot may be lower than this) prize. Being aware of these rules before you make a prize claim can protect you from the shock of seeing millions of dollars slashed from your prize money.
Taxes for Lottery Pools
If you win a large prize as part of a lottery pool, you are still required to pay taxes on your winnings. Each member of the group will be liable to pay their share of taxes, so everyone will need to report the income when filing their returns. Some states make this easy, as they allow each member of a lottery pool to claim individually through a shared or multiple ownership claim. In these cases the prize money will be paid directly to each member of the pool and the appropriate taxes will be withheld at the point of payment.
It gets slightly more complicated when the entirety of the prize money is paid to one representative, who is then responsible for distributing the winnings to other people. In these cases, anyone receiving a share of the money who is not named as the actual winner will need to complete IRS form 5754 to report the income. This will need to be filled out by every member of the group except the named claimant before the prize money is distributed. Form 5754 must be filed by December 31st of the tax year in which the prize was paid.
In the event of a big prize win, you should contact your state lottery for further guidance about your tax obligations and what you need to do to report the income correctly.
More Articles
Do you like to gamble? If so, then you should know that the taxman beats the odds every time you do. The Internal Revenue Service and many states consider any money you win in the casino as taxable income. This applies to all types of casual gambling – from roulette and poker tournaments to slots, bingo and even fantasy football. In some cases, the casino will withhold a percentage of your winnings for taxes before it pays you at the rate of 24 percent.
Casino Winnings Are Not Tax-Free
Casino winnings count as gambling income and gambling income is always taxed at the federal level. That includes cash from slot machines, poker tournaments, baccarat, roulette, keno, bingo, raffles, lotteries and horse racing. If you win a non-cash prize like a car or a vacation, you pay taxes on the fair market value of the item you win.
By law, you must report all your winnings on your federal income tax return – and all means all. Whether you win five bucks on the slots or five million on the poker tables, you are technically required to report it. Job income plus gambling income plus other income equals the total income on your tax return. Subtract the deductions, and you'll pay taxes on the resulting figure at your standard income tax rate.
How Much You Win Matters
While you're required to report every last dollar of winnings, the casino will only get involved when your winnings hit certain thresholds for income reporting:
- $5,000 (reduced by the wager or buy-in) from a poker tournament, sweepstakes, jai alai, lotteries and wagering pools.
- $1,500 (reduced by the wager) in keno winnings.
- $1,200 (not reduced by the wager) from slot machines or bingo
- $600 (reduced by the wager at the casino's discretion) for all other types of winnings but only if the payout is at least 300 times your wager.
Win at or above these amounts, and the casino will send you IRS Form W2-G to report the full amount won and the amount of tax withholding if any. You will need this form to prepare your tax return.
Understand that you must report all gambling winnings to the IRS, not just those listed above. It just means that you don't have to fill out Form W2-G for other winnings. Income from table games, such as craps, roulette, blackjack and baccarat, do not require a WG-2, for example, regardless of the amount won. It's not clear why the IRS has differentiated it this way, but those are the rules. However, you still have to report the income from these games.
What is the Federal Gambling Tax Rate?
Standard federal tax withholding applies to winnings of $5,000 or more from:
- Wagering pools (this does not include poker tournaments).
- Lotteries.
- Sweepstakes.
- Other gambling transactions where the winnings are at least 300 times the amount wagered.
If you win above the threshold from these types of games, the casino automatically withholds 24 percent of your winnings for the IRS before it pays you. If you cannot provide a Social Security number, the casino will make a 'backup withholding.' A backup withholding is also applied at the rate of 24 percent, only now it includes all your gambling winnings from slot machines, keno, bingo, poker tournaments and more. This money gets passed directly to the IRS and credited against your final tax bill. Before December 31, 2017, the standard withholding rate was 25 percent and the backup rate was 28 percent.
The $5,000 threshold applies to net winnings, meaning you deduct the amount of your wager or buy-in. For example, if you won $5,500 on the poker tables but had to buy in to the game for $1,000, then you would not be subject to the minimum withholding threshold.
It's important to understand that withholding is an entirely separate requirement from reporting the winning on Form WG-2. Just because your gambling winning is reported on Form WG-2 does not automatically require a withholding for federal income taxes.
Can You Deduct Gambling Losses?
If you itemize your deductions on Schedule A, then you can also deduct gambling losses but only up to the amount of the winnings shown on your tax return. So, if you won $5,000 on the blackjack table, you could only deduct $5,000 worth of losing bets, not the $6,000 you actually lost on gambling wagers during the tax year. And you cannot carry your losses from year to year.
The IRS recommends that you keep a gambling log or spreadsheet showing all your wins and losses. The log should contain the date of the gambling activity, type of activity, name and address of the casino, amount of winnings and losses, and the names of other people there with you as part of the wagering pool. Be sure to keep all tickets, receipts and statements if you're going to claim gambling losses as the IRS may call for evidence in support of your claim.
What About State Withholding Tax on Gambling Winnings?
There are good states for gamblers and bad states for gamblers. If you're going to 'lose the shirt off your back,' you might as well do it in a 'good' gambling state like Nevada, which has no state tax on gambling winnings. The 'bad' states tax your gambling winnings either as a flat percentage of the amount won or by ramping up the percentage owed depending on how much you won.
Each state has different rules. In Maryland, for example, you must report winnings between $500 and $5,000 within 60 days and pay state income taxes within that time frame; you report winnings under $500 on your annual state tax return and winnings over $5,000 are subject to withholding by the casino due to state taxes. Personal tax rates begin at 2 percent and increase to a maximum of 5.75 percent in 2018. In Iowa, there's an automatic 5 percent withholding for state income tax purposes whenever federal taxes are withheld.
State taxes are due in the state you won the income and different rules may apply to players from out of state. The casino should be clued in on the state's withholding laws. Speak to them if you're not clear why the payout is less than you expect.
How to Report Taxes on Casino Winnings
You should receive all of your W2-Gs by January 31 and you'll need these forms to complete your federal and state tax returns. Boxes 1, 4 and 15 are the most important as these show your taxable gambling winnings, federal income taxes withheld and state income taxes withheld, respectively.
You must report the amount specified in Box 1, as well as other gambling income not reported on a W2-G, on the 'other income' line of your IRS Form 1040. This form is being replaced with a simpler form for the 2019 tax season but the reporting requirement remains the same. If your winnings are subject to withholding, you should report the amount in the 'payment' section of your return.
Delaware
Different rules apply to professional gamblers who gamble full time to earn a livelihood. As a pro gambler, your winnings will be subject to self-employment tax after offsetting gambling losses and after other allowable expenses.