CALIFORNIA LOTTERY TAX · TAX YEAR 2026

California lottery tax calculator

California does not tax California Lottery prizes. A prize from another state's lottery is taxed as income, at rates up to 12.3% plus 1% on income over $1,000,000. On a $1,000,000 prize with $75,000 of wages, a single filer owes no California tax and $340,080 of federal income tax, $340,080 in all, and keeps $659,920.

Tax on your prize

Total tax on the prize: $340,080.25
Federal income tax: $340,080.25
California tax: $0.00
After-tax prize: $659,919.75
Effective rate: 34.01%

Federal withholding at 24%: $240,000.00
Still owed at tax time: $100,080.25

California tax by size of prize

What a single filer with $75,000 of wages owes on a prize, and the state tax if the ticket was bought in another state.

California tax on a lottery prize — tax year 2026
Prize	Federal tax	State tax	State tax if bought out of state
$10,000	$2,200	$0	$851
$100,000	$23,064	$0	$9,221
$1 million	$340,080	$0	$109,710
$10 million	$3,670,080	$0	$1,306,710

California lottery tax questions

Does California tax lottery winnings?

No. California does not tax California Lottery prizes. A prize from another state's lottery is taxed as income, at rates up to 12.3% plus 1% on income over $1,000,000.

How much tax is due on a $1,000,000 lottery prize in California?

A single filer with $75,000 of wages owes $340,080 of federal income tax and no California tax on a $1,000,000 prize, $340,080 in all, and keeps $659,920. On a $100,000 prize, California tax is $0 and federal tax $23,064.

How much is withheld from a California lottery prize?

California withholds no state tax from a California Lottery prize, and federal withholding is 24% of a prize over $5,000. On a $1,000,000 prize, $240,000 is withheld against $340,080 of tax, leaving $100,080 to pay at tax time.

Does California tax a lottery ticket bought in another state?

Yes. A single filer with $75,000 of wages owes $109,710 of California tax on a $1,000,000 prize from another state's lottery, against nothing on a California Lottery prize.

What the calculator leaves out

Federal tax stacks the prize on wages after the 2026 standard deduction and taxes it at the ordinary brackets. Withholding treats the whole prize as winnings, though the IRS tests winnings minus the wager. The calculator takes the cash received this year: a lump sum is taxed in full the year it is paid, and annuity payments are taxed each year as they are received. Gambling losses are left out; only filers who itemize can deduct them, and from 2026 only up to 90% of losses. Tax another state may charge on a ticket bought there is left out.

Sources

Read the full assumptions and sources.