A North Carolina woman took home exactly $1 million on a "Taxes Paid" ticket

Tracy Barringer of Richfield won the top prize on North Carolina's $10 $1,000,000 Taxes Paid scratch-off and went home with $1 million, the NC Education Lottery said. She bought the ticket at the Refuel on U.S. 52 North in Albemarle and claimed the prize Friday, October 30, at lottery headquarters.

The prize printed on the game is $1,388,696. That figure is grossed up so the 24% standard federal and 3.99% state withholdings comes out of it and leaves an even $1 million.

Withholding isn't the final tax bill, though. The IRS counts the full $1,388,696 as income, and it lands in the top 37% federal bracket. As our breakdown of the Taxes Paid games worked out, a single filer with no other income would owe about $470,800 in federal tax, roughly $137,500 more than was withheld. That would bring the real take-home closer to $862,000 after paying the extra 13% next April.

The game launched September 1 with three top prizes, and the lottery puts the odds of one at 1 in 1.85 million per ticket. With Barringer's claim, one is left, and about 37.5% of the tickets have sold. Four of the nine $20,000 prizes and six of the nine $10,000 prizes are also still out. The game wins 1 in 3.95 times and returns 72.3% of sales, below the 74.4% average for North Carolina $10 games, and it rates 54.5 on our ValueScore™, sixth of 18.

It is one of four Taxes Paid games that went on sale the same day. The $20 $2,000,000 Taxes Paid still has all three of its $2,777,392 top prizes and rates 75.5. Education programs in Stanly County received $4.4 million from lottery funds last year, the lottery said.

Sources

NC Education Lottery: Stanly County woman bags $1 million with taxes paid on scratch-off win

NC Education Lottery: $1,000,000 Taxes Paid (#57)