California Lottery Tax
California State Lottery calottery.com
- California tax0%no state tax on prizes
- Federal withholding24%on prizes of $5,000 or more
- Top federal rate37%owed on a big prize at tax time
- IRS form W-2G$2,000+prizes the lottery reports
California does not tax lottery prizes, like Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. California Lottery prizes are not taxed by the state. The IRS taxes every prize as income: the lottery withholds 24% from prizes of $5,000 or more, and a big prize puts you in the top bracket (37%), so the rest is due when you file.
What you keep in California
| Prize | Federal (37%) | California (0%) | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | −$370 | $0 | $630 |
| $10,000 | −$3,700 | $0 | $6,300 |
| $100,000 | −$37,000 | $0 | $63,000 |
| $1,000,000 | −$370,000 | $0 | $630,000 |
Estimate at the top federal rate. Smaller prizes are taxed at your own bracket, so you may owe less; city or county taxes are not included unless the note above says so.
If you win the jackpot in California
$600 Million jackpot
- Cash value
- $253M
- Federal tax
- −$93.5M
- California tax
- $0
- You keep
- $159M
$413 Million jackpot
- Cash value
- $170M
- Federal tax
- −$63M
- California tax
- $0
- You keep
- $107M
Lottery tax by state
38 states tax lottery prizes, from 2.5% to 10.9%. 8 do not: California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
- Arizona 2.5%
- Arkansas 3.7%
- Colorado 4.4%
- Connecticut 6.99%
- Delaware 6.6%
- District of Columbia 10.75%
- Florida 0%
- Georgia 4.99%
- Idaho 5.3%
- Illinois 4.95%
- Indiana 2.95%
- Iowa 3.8%
- Kansas 5.58%
- Kentucky 3.5%
- Louisiana 3%
- Maine 9.15%
- Maryland 6.5%
- Massachusetts 9%
- Michigan 4.25%
- Minnesota 9.85%
- Mississippi 4%
- Missouri 4.7%
- Montana 5.65%
- Nebraska 4.55%
- New Hampshire 0%
- New Jersey 10.75%
- New Mexico 5.9%
- New York 10.9%
- North Carolina 3.99%
- North Dakota 2.5%
- Ohio 2.75%
- Oklahoma 4.5%
- Oregon 9.9%
- Pennsylvania 3.07%
- Rhode Island 5.99%
- South Carolina 5.21%
- South Dakota 0%
- Tennessee 0%
- Texas 0%
- Vermont 8.75%
- Virginia 5.75%
- Washington 0%
- West Virginia 4.58%
- Wisconsin 7.65%
- Wyoming 0%
Rates as of October 13, 2026. ftb.ca.gov, IRS. Not tax advice: ask a tax professional before you claim a big prize.