Gambling losses can be deducted by amateur gamblers who choose to itemize their gambling losses. Related: How to Complete Form 1040 Deducting US-based gambling losses on US expat taxes After, you may take the Foreign Tax Credit to offset your US tax liability for the lottery winnings. Assuming that you reside abroad and are a tax resident of a foreign country, you will likely pay taxes on the lottery winnings first to the foreign country. If you win the lottery abroad, you need to report that income on your US expat tax return. Strategies to minimize taxes on foreign lottery winnings Instead, it depends on how much the lottery winnings are and the other types of income you report. Whether you’ll have additional taxes to pay has nothing to do with the country in which you won the lottery. Any gambling winnings, which include foreign lottery prizes, are subject to the same graduated tax rates that apply to your other income. That doesn’t mean they don’t need to be reported on your US tax return though. While the IRS automatically withholds tax on US lottery winnings, they won’t do the same for foreign lottery winnings.

Are foreign lottery winnings taxable by the US? If you receive a large winnings payout as a lump sum, you leave your money vulnerable to higher tax rates by the IRS. One common strategy is to elect for your winnings to be paid out in distributions over an extended period of time – this will effectively result in an overall lower tax liability.Īlthough winning the lottery is exciting, it is best to avoid a lump-sum payout in the case of high winnings. However, there are strategies you can implement to buffer your winnings from IRS. The first winnings up to $599.99 are tax-free, with winnings above that amount required to be reported on your upcoming tax return.Īt the highest tax band, winnings may be taxed by as much as 38%. The rate at which the net winnings are ultimately taxed though depends on the amount you won.

The IRS automatically withholds 30% of net lottery winnings in the US. How much tax does the IRS take from lottery winnings? The exact amount of tax applied will depend on your tax bracket, which is based on the overall amount of income you have for the year. Net lottery winnings are the total amount of winnings that remain after subtracting the cost of the lottery ticket.

Related reading: Minimum Income Thresholds Required for Expats to File US Taxes What does the IRS consider lottery winnings?

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