What if a Canadian wins the $1.9-billion Powerball lottery?

The U.S. Powerball jackpot climbed to a record US$1.4 billion after Saturday’s draw yielded no winner and thousands of Canadians are buying tickets online for a chance to win the massive prize (which now amounts to CA$1.98 billion), according to global lottery site TheLotter. In the past, Canadians would have been required to cross the border to buy American lottery tickets. However, the site started selling tickets online for Canucks a few years ago. Before you get too excited, remember that the chances of winning the Powerball is hovering at around one in 292.2 million, according to Global News. So what happens if a Canadian does win during this week’s Wednesday draw? Well they’ll be taxed 5% more than a U.S. winner. Global reports that the federal taxation rate on lottery winnings for non-U.S. residents is 30% of the gross winnings, compared to 25% for American residents. Luckily, lottery winnings are not taxed by the Canadian federal government, so a victor north of the border may still be better off than a U.S. resident (where many states impose additional taxes). Winners have the option of being paid a sum annually over 29 years or an immediate lump-sum of the available cash amount. If you don’t decide to flock to the U.S. Powerball, here’s how to win a Canadian lottery. If you can taste victory already, here’s what you shouldn’t do with a windfall worth millions. And alternatively, here’s what you should do with your Powerball winnings. Maybe you’d be better off not winning at all. Some lottery winners have pretty sad stories. And hey, even if you don’t win, you’re way more likely to accomplish one of these things. —This story was updated on Jan. 11, 2016 to reflect the new value of the Powerball lottery—

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BC says:

November 6, 2022 at 7:54 pm

The 25% for US residents is not the total tax bill. That varies depending on any number of factors. That’s just the standard US federal tax withholding. Most with large lottery winnings are going to owe more than that at the time of tax filing, but 25% is right off the top. In addition to possible state taxes that were mentioned.

This is the same for most gambling winnings save some limited games of chance. A Canadian going to the US and winning such and such an amount from a large slot machine jackpot would have the 30% deducted immediately. There are a few countries where there’s no nonresident alien withholding by treaty, but Canada isn’t among them. I believe a Canadian might be able to request a refund later to offset any US gambling losses.

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Dennis says:

November 7, 2022 at 2:25 pm

Tried to join The Lotter and open an but would not let me because I’m located in British Columbia! What’s up with that??!!

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