What you actually keep on a $1,000, $10,000, $100,000 and $1 million+ lottery win
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The tax on a lottery prize is not always the same percentage, and the amount withheld from the prize claim center is almost never the total amount you actually owe. Here is the ladder, from a $1,000 scratch-off up to a $1 million+ top prize.
| Prize | Federal taxes withheld at claim (24%) | Real total federal tax if it is your only source of income | The difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $0 | about $100 | you owe at filing |
| $5,000 | $0 | about $500 | you owe at filing |
| $10,000 | $2,400 | about $1,000 | refund of about $1,400 |
| $50,000 | $12,000 | about $5,900 | refund of about $6,100 |
| $100,000 | $24,000 | about $16,900 | refund of about $7,100 |
| $1,000,000 | $240,000 | about $327,000 | you owe about $87,000 more |
| $10,000,000 | $2,400,000 | about $3,657,000 | you owe about $1,257,000 more |
The two thresholds that decide what happens for your taxes
Federal withholding starts on prizes above $5,000, at a flat 24%, and your state adds its own state tax withholdings on top, anywhere from 0% in Texas or Florida up to 10.9% in New York. Below that $5,000, nothing comes out and the prize is paid in full.
The paperwork threshold moved this year. The W-2G form, which reports a win to the IRS, is now issued at $2,000 and up for 2026, raised from the old $600 line. A $1,500 win now generates no form at all. It is still technically taxable, and we went through that change in the Michigan threshold piece: fewer forms means the reporting burden sits with you.
Why the middle prizes get refunds
The flat 24% federal withholding is calibrated for nobody in particular, and the table shows the result. A $100,000 prize on top of a modest income lands mostly in the 22% and 24% tax brackets, producing real federal tax near $17,000, so the $24,000 withheld is more than the money you owe by about $7,000 and filing gets a refund.
A $1 million prize does the opposite, because most of it sits in the top 35% and 37% federal tax brackets. The real federal bill is about $327,000 against $240,000 (24%) withheld, leaving roughly $87,000 due the following April. At $10 million the gap is even larger: about $3,657,000 of real federal tax against $2,400,000 withheld, leaving roughly $1.26 million due at filing next April.
The state the game is in changes the amount
Everything above is federal tax only. State tax runs from zero in nine states to 10.9% in New York, with most states between 3% and 6%, and a handful of cities add their own city tax too. On $1 million that spread is worth over $100,000, which is why the same prize is worth meaningfully different amounts on different sides of a state line.
Our lottery tax calculator runs the withholding and the true-bill numbers for any prize in any state, and shows both, because the pair is what you actually need.
About the "only income" column on the table
The middle column of the table assumes the prize is your only income for the year, which flatters the small prizes and understates the tax on big ones for anyone with an income. A prize stacks on top of what you already earn, so a $50,000 win for someone earning $80,000 is taxed mostly at their top rates, not from the bottom of the brackets. Treat the column as a floor, and the lottery calculator as the real answer.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much tax is taken out of a $1,000 lottery win?
Nothing at the counter, in most states. Federal withholding only starts on prizes above $5,000, and as of 2026 the W-2G tax form is only issued at $2,000 and up. The win is still taxable income you must report, and what you owe depends on your bracket: about $100 if the prize were your only income, more in practice because it stacks on top of your salary.
How much tax comes out of a $10,000 lottery win?
The lottery withholds 24% federal, or $2,400, plus your state’s rate, so a check in a typical state arrives around $7,100 to $7,600. Whether you owe more or get some back at filing depends on your total income for the year.
Do you get lottery withholding back?
Sometimes. Withholding is a flat 24% regardless of your actual bracket. A $100,000 prize won by someone with modest other income generates about $17,000 of real federal tax against $24,000 withheld, so filing returns the difference. On $1 million the opposite happens: the true bill is near $327,000 and the withholding covers only $240,000.
Jessie Jurado is a news writer who covers new scratch-off launches, state lottery guides, taxes on winnings, news, and much more. She joined ScratchCheck in 2026 and writes the site's state-by-state coverage.
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