What You Need to Know About Tax On Lotto
With The Lottery Office, you have access to the biggest international lottery draws in the world! These international lottery jackpots can be significantly larger than those from the traditional Australian lotteries. However, unlike Australia where there is no tax on lotto, in some cases, there may be taxes associated with an international win.
The Lottery Office makes it possible for Australians to play international lotteries because we purchase matching tickets in the corresponding overseas lotteries. If your Lottery Office ticket wins, we collect the overseas prize and pay you the equivalent amount in Australian dollars, after any applicable taxes are deducted by the foreign lottery operator/government on the foreign lottery winnings.
When it comes to Lottery Tax Australia, the rules are straightforward: there is no tax on lottery winnings locally. However, it’s important to understand the tax implications in the country where the original lottery is held.
Here’s what you need to know about taxes when you play to win in the following lotteries:
USA Mega Lotto & USA Power Lotto
There are federal and state US taxes payable on larger US lottery winnings. The federal tax rate that is paid to a non-resident winner is 30% on payouts above USD $600 with an additional 8% state tax on winnings over USD $1,500. US taxes are deducted from the prize amounts before payout by the state lottery office.
Matching EuroMillions tickets are purchased in Austria. Lottery winnings are not currently taxed in Austria.
A 20% tax is applied to winnings that exceed the equivalent of €500. The Lottery Office will pay you the exact amount of after-tax winnings collected from the matching SuperEnalotto ticket.
Matching EuroJackpot tickets are purchased in Germany. Lottery winnings are not currently taxed in Germany.
Lottery winnings are not currently taxed in the UK & Ireland.
Matching tickets are purchased in Spain. There is a tax rate of 20% on lottery winnings exceeding the equivalent of €40,000.
So why play international lotteries?
Sure, we have some big lottery jackpots right here in Australia, but there’s no comparison to the amounts you can win from the draws of some international lottery jackpots.
The biggest ever single US Mega Millions win was a mind-blowing AUD $2.1 billion! While Australia’s biggest lottery jackpot saw one lucky Aussie take home a first division prize of AUD $107 million and while that’s all well and good, it’s almost pocket change compared to an AUD 2 billion dollar jackpot.
When it comes to European lotteries, the EuroMillions biggest jackpot winner walked away with AUD $330 million, more than tripling Australia’s record of AUD $107 million! With prize money like this on offer, why wouldn’t you want a chance to win?
The good news is if you win an international lottery you won’t pay any additional local taxes on your winnings as there is no tax on lotto in Australia. The Lottery Office doesn’t charge any fees or commissions, you get paid the same amount as collected from the overseas lottery win.
If you have any more questions about the international lottery taxes head over to our FAQs page, or if you have all the information you need go ahead and PLAY NOW!
FAQ
Is it Safe to Play Online Lottery with The Lottery Office?
The Lottery Office is proudly 100% Australian owned and operated and we’re one of the safest lottery companies in the country. We’ve been operating the same licensed lottery model internationally for more than 20 years. When you play the lottery with us, there’s no betting. You receive a Lottery Office ticket in our own matched lottery. We are licensed and regulated by the Northern Territory (NT) Government. The NT Government carries out audits of our financials and operating procedures as well as live audits of customer orders and tickets sold against the matching foreign tickets purchased, and the resulting draw outcomes against the winner payments.
Is playing with The Lottery Office expensive?
It may surprise you how affordable it is to play the lottery online! For as little as AUD$3.70, you can play in our La Primitiva lottery, with a chance to win from the draws of Spain’s La Primitiva. If you want to play in the USA Power lotto, it is as little as AUD$7.
Will playing online save me time?
Once you have an account with The Lottery Office it’ll take you less than 5 minutes to purchase a ticket in one of our lotteries, then we’ll purchase a matching ticket in the corresponding international draw. You can even download our free official app and keep us handy any time.
Does playing international lotteries benefit Aussies?
Yes! We give a percentage of each purchase price to The Lottery Office Charitable and Community Benefits fund which donates to various charities and community groups. Some of the charities we have assisted over the years include Australian Street Aid Project, Foster Care Angels, Guide Dogs Victoria, the NSW Rural Fire Service and more.
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