New Jersey lottery tax calculator
New Jersey taxes lottery winnings at up to 10.75%, on top of federal tax of up to 37%.
State rate
10.75%
3rd highest of 46 lottery states
Anonymity
Yes, winners may remain anonymous
Local tax
None
New Jersey's 10.75% top rate is effectively the highest in the nation for lottery prizes, but state law does allow winners to remain anonymous.
Now spend it: $170.4 million from New JerseyWhat the current Powerball leaves you here, carried straight into the planner. Buy the house, then see what the rest pays you every year.New Jersey's withholding is where a jackpot winner is most likely to be caught short. The Lottery withholds 8% on any payout over $500,000, but the state's top tax rate is 10.75% on taxable income over $1,000,000. On a prize the size of the $537.5 million cash value from 2024, the 2.75-point gap works out to roughly $14.8 million still owed to the state at filing, on top of the gap between 24% federal withholding and the 37% top federal rate. Winners here should set money aside for two separate April bills.
Only prizes over $10,000 are taxable to New Jersey, and once a prize crosses that line the whole payout is subject to withholding, not just the amount above $10,000. The rate steps up with the size of the payout: 5% from $10,001 to $500,000 and 8% above that. Winners who do not give a valid taxpayer ID face 8% on payouts over $10,000. Out-of-state lottery winnings, by contrast, are taxable to New Jersey residents regardless of amount.
New Jersey is one of the easier states for privacy. Under a 2020 law, winners can stay anonymous indefinitely, and the December 2024 claim of the $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot sold at a ShopRite in Neptune Township used exactly that. You still have to present ID to the Lottery, which may share winner information with other agencies to collect unpaid obligations. The one-year claim window also gives winners real time to arrange advisers before they come forward.
Lump sum vs annuity in New Jersey
Powerball is currently advertising $760 million, with a cash value of $326 million. Here is what a single filer in New Jersey would keep under each payout option.
Lump sum
One payment of $326 million, today
$170,385,000
- Federal tax
- $120,570,000
- New Jersey tax
- $35,045,000
- Effective rate
- 47.73%
30-year annuity
$760 million paid across 29 years
$398,599,992
- First payment, after tax
- $6,026,925
- Final payment, after tax
- $24,651,833
- Total advantage
- +$228,214,993
The annuity pays $228,214,993 more in total, but the lump sum can be invested immediately and stays under your control. Around nine in ten winners take the cash. See how to decide between them.
Claiming a jackpot in New Jersey
- Deadline
- New Jersey draw game winners have one year from the drawing date to claim; the 2024 $1.13 billion Mega Millions ticket, for example, had until March 26, 2025.
- Where to claim
- Jackpots and other large prizes (roughly $25,000 or more) are claimed by appointment at NJ Lottery headquarters in Lawrence Township. Smaller prizes over $599.99 can be claimed by mailing the claim form and ticket.
- Staying anonymous
- A 2020 New Jersey law lets winners remain anonymous indefinitely, though the winner must still show ID to the Lottery for processing and IRS reporting. The Lottery says trusts and LLCs are a legal question it cannot advise on.
- Living in another state
- New Jersey taxes nonresidents on New Jersey Lottery prizes over $10,000 the same way it taxes residents, with the same withholding. A New Jersey resident who wins in another state's lottery must report it to New Jersey regardless of amount, and can claim a credit for tax paid to the other state on Schedule NJ-COJ.
Run your own numbers
Switch games, compare the annuity, change your filing status, then plan what to do with what is left.
1. Choose a jackpot
2. Where did you buy the ticket?
3. What you actually take home
Your estimated take-home
$170,385,000
47.73% of the prize goes to tax
| Cash value (lump sum) | $326,000,000 |
| Federal tax withheld24% taken automatically at claim time | −$78,240,000 |
| Additional federal tax due at filingThe gap between 24% withholding and your real bracket | −$42,330,000 |
| New Jersey state tax10.75% top marginal rate | −$35,045,000 |
| Total tax | −$155,615,000 |
| You keep | $170,385,000 |
4. Plan what to do with it
The hard part is not the windfall, it is what is left in year ten. Sketch out your spending and see what the remainder can pay you every year, indefinitely.
What would you buy first?
Tap an idea to add it at a typical price, or dream up your own. Every amount stays editable once it is in your plan.
The fun part
The people you love
Your plan
Nothing yet. Start spending and watch what is left keep paying you.
- After-tax winnings
- $170,385,000
- Planned spending
- −$0
- Left to invest
- $170,385,000
Paid to you every year, for life
$6,815,400
That is $567,950 a month, or about 78 times the typical American household's income, without touching the principal.
Assumes the remaining $170,385,000 is invested and you draw 4.0% a year, the standard planning rule for money meant to last indefinitely.
New Jersey lottery tax questions
Compare with other states
See every state rankedRates reflect each state's top marginal income tax rate as applied to lottery winnings, current as of 2026-01-01. The amount withheld at claim time frequently differs. This is an estimate for planning, not tax advice.