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The Game of Chance Gets New Rules: Pennsylvania Taxes Lottery Winnings

Anyone who’s won big in the Pennsylvania lottery since 2016 may want to hold off on buying that extra flat screen, or start searching for the receipt if they already splurged. That’s because for the first time since the Pennsylvania lottery debuted in 1972, winners must pay state taxes on their cash winnings.

Pennsylvania lottery winners are now looking at a 3.07% personal income tax on all cash prizes. The bad news is that although the news arrived over the summer of 2016, any folks who got lucky since Jan. 1, 2016 are out of luck – the new tax applies retroactively. Winners from years past also aren’t in the clear – the income tax is in full effect on their annuity payments received in 2016 and into the future.

The Pennsylvania Revenue Department will be mailing out more than 45,000 letters to cash prize winners of $600 or more, as a gentle reminder to report the winnings to them and to the IRS. Shrugging off this correspondence would be a very bad idea: the lottery is required to report someone’s winnings to both agencies at the $600 threshold.

After July 12, 2016, the Pennsylvania lottery began automatically withholding income tax on winnings above $5,000. So winners of all shapes and sizes of cash prizes between Jan. 1 and July 12, 2016 may want to look into making estimated tax payments to avoid some nasty underpayment penalties. Any out-of-towners who pass through the Keystone State and successfully play the numbers game need to know the new tax rules apply to their winnings too.

Note that federal taxes have always been collected on Pennsylvania lottery winnings, so nothing changes on that front. Also, only cash prizes are getting dinged: gift cards and other goodies are exempt from the tax. With Pennsylvania out, California is the last state standing that doesn’t tax lottery winnings. So if you’re placing all your bets on chance, it’s time to head out west!