CT Lottery
Connecticut Lottery Tax Calculator
Connecticut withholds 6.99% from every lottery winner over the threshold, residents or not — and its recapture rules mean a large prize really is taxed at close to 6.99% from the first dollar.
Verified · tax year 2026
Connecticut prize — results
Take-home
60.5% kept of $2,000,000
Annuity · 30 payments
Year 1 — → year 30 —
| Cash received | $2,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | −$650,251 |
| Tax to Connecticut | $0 |
| Connecticut tax | −$139,700 |
| Local income tax | $0 |
| You keep | $1,210,050 |
| Federal withholding (24%) | −$480,000 |
|---|---|
| State withholding | −$139,800 |
| Check you receive | $1,380,200 |
| Still owed when you file | $170,151 |
Data: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 · state agencies, verified · what this leaves out
How the lower brackets disappear
Connecticut’s tax calculation schedule has three moving parts: the bracket table (2% up to 6.99%), a “2% phase-out add-back” that takes back the benefit of the 2% bracket, and a recapture table that claws back the remaining lower brackets as income climbs. For a married couple the add-back maxes out at $500 above $145,500 of income and the recapture at $6,800 above $1,080,000.
Run a $2,000,000 prize for a couple with no other income and the three pieces total $139,700 — 6.98% of the prize. The CT Lottery withheld $139,800 (6.99%), so the state side is all but settled at claim.
Nonresidents and New York commuters
The CT Lottery states plainly that Connecticut tax is withheld from all CT Lottery winnings regardless of residency. A New Yorker or Rhode Islander who wins in Connecticut files a Connecticut nonresident return, then claims a credit at home. Non-resident aliens are withheld 30% federal plus the same 6.99%.
The 2026 version of the tax calculation schedule has not been released, so this page uses the 2025 schedule (revised December 2025);
Connecticut at a glance
| State income tax on winnings | Up to 6.99% |
|---|---|
| Rate table used | 2025 Tax Calculation Schedule (latest published) |
| Lottery | CT Lottery |
| State withholding at claim | 6.99% over $5,000 |
What Connecticut winners should know
- Connecticut’s schedule claws back its lower brackets as income rises (the 2% phase-out add-back and the recapture table), so a prize above about $540,000 single or $1.08 million joint is taxed at roughly a flat 6.99% from the first dollar.
- The CT Lottery withholds 6.99% from every winner over the threshold, out-of-state residents included — a New Yorker who wins in Connecticut files a Connecticut nonresident return.
Connecticut sources
- Form CT-1040 TCS, 2025 Tax Calculation Schedule (Rev. 12/25) — Connecticut Department of Revenue Services †
- Tax Information — CT Lottery †
Agency: Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. † read through a browser session (why). How the math works.