[Jhnidy]

So a group of people put TAXED dollars into a hat and one person "wins" that pot. The government finds income here? How many times can they tax it? My lottery money goes into Canada eh. If I ever hit, I will buy a warm coat.

[Cheapbas]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Florida doesn't impose tax on lottery winnings. I believe you can "gift" up to $25,000 per year, to any individual(s) you want, without them having to declare it as income. You also can't write it off as an expense, but if you donate to a registered charity you can write it off as a charitable contribution on your year-end tax return.

I checked with OmniCalculator and see this:

With a $984 million megamillions winning ticket, the lump sum payout would be $511,680,000.

Federal taxes would be $189,729,688.

So your net payout would be $321,950,312

Over a quarter of a billion dollars. Pretty sure when you win THAT big, you don't have much need to worry about taxes. You can afford to pay them. If you bought a summer home up north by a lake, upgraded your house here in The Villages, got a comfy adobe in Santa Fe for ski weekends, and spent a month every year in Venice Italy, bought yourself a new car and his-and-hers custom golf carts, you'd still have around $200 million after 10 years. You can give $25,000 to your son, AND his wife, AND each of their three kids, and your daughter, and HER husband, and THEIR twin boys, AND pay for your mom's long-term memory care housing and medical bills that medicare doesn't cover, and still have over $100,000 million left over. You can live off the interest of that and die with enough to set your kids and grandkids up with a nice cushion for their own - and THEIR grandchildren's lives.

The gift might be only $18,000 per year. UMTA is up to $18k/year for minors tax-free but the kid can't touch the money until he's at least 18 (up to 25, depending on how the paperwork is filled out when the account is created).

Actually both you and your wife can gift identical amounts.

[Rocksnap]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

I would worry about that after the win. Which pretty unlikely with 365 million to 1 odds. But, if don’t play you have NO chance to win.

Sooooo what you are saying is, there is a chance of winning!

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

I would worry about that after the win. Which pretty unlikely with 365 million to 1 odds. But, if don’t play you have NO chance to win.

I have no chance to win because I have never bought a lottery ticket. It is a bad investment. Although, there was a couple who figured out how to beat the system by waiting until the jackpot got so high and the lottery operators did not decrease the odds of winning to match the increased jackpot. There is a movie about the couple called "Jerry and Marge Go Large". True story.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

It is a bad investment.

It's not an investment. Its an entertainment answer to a dream. . . Eureka! the 1800's exclamation for finding a load of gold in the ground, same dream.

all retirement strategies should include a lottery strategy, low cost, high payoff, very tiny amounts, like once a year, for christmas stocking stuffers. Same with 8 play parlays in the NFL, 175 x the original bet. . . odds are low, payoff high. . minimal amounts of bets for entertainment, but random luck can hit changing one's life.

however, there are smaller odds lotteries with better odds with life changing money. FL Lotto has great odds, several million + payout. Put the FL lotto app on your phone and play that lottery for Christmas, buy an annual ticket, pick it and forget it.

If you are worried about winning too much money, take the 20 year payout.
If you are wanting to use it to gift to relatives etc, take the lump sum.

If you are worried about paying more in taxes or taxes at all, no one can help you.. . don't play

[retiredguy123]

To me, it is an investment. A bad one. No entertainment value whatsoever.

[airstreamingypsy]

I would take the lump sum, I doubt I'll be here in 20 years...

[donfey]

Originally Posted by SHIBUMI

Hopefully someone in the Villages wins! But what to do.......

1. take lump sum or 30 year payments, lump sum after taxes less than 50%

2. 30 year payments get 5% interest a year

3. How do you slit it with a bunch of folks without them being taxed again

4. Can leave payments to beneficiaries

if you have any knowledge or ideas on this please share ...........thanks, Merry Christmas

Oh, for want of such "problems!" Merry Christmas.

[ElDiabloJoe]

They call buying a lottery ticket the Stupid Tax for a reason. However, throwing a couple bucks at it every blue moon is no big deal - kinda like knowing it's stupid to gamble, but tossing a couple quarters at the slot as you walk through the Vegas casino. Cheap entertainment for a short while.

[SHIBUMI]

I think that would be taxed again, the question is how do you make her part of the payout so it is only taxed once.

If you had 50 people you wanted to give money too, can you make them part of the payout so the money isn't taxed twice?????

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

If I win megamillions I'll happily pay whatever taxes I'm obligated to pay. I have nothing I can deduct to reduce my obligation, I have no investments or tax shelters, and my Intel stock has been tanking this year.

I'll give my sister a million, maybe a hundred thousand to each of his aids, and then set dad up in the swankiest full-service nursing/memory/palliative care place I can find. I'll probably donate a million to the battered women's shelter down in Leesburg, and maybe I'll pick up a bunch of Sonic gift cards and give them to those sign-waver folks who hang out begging in front of Walmart.

And then, I'm going back up to New England from late May til late September. Enjoy the fall foliage, the lilac trees in the spring, mountains and roadside farmstands and hot lobster rolls and buskers playing in Harvard Square and the subway and shopping and taking the T everywhere! I'll buy a new car down here, and a spankin tricked-out golf cart. Hubby will just have to miss me a couple months every year, he hates travel and I miss home too much to not go.

I'll stop worrying about being able to afford health insurance premiums. I'll get the best I can find, and get this damned hip replacement I've been needing for the past few years.

I'll still have enough left over that maybe I'll buy a ghost-town in the midwest somewhere, just for fun.

[SHIBUMI]

I think its 30 years now!

Originally Posted by airstreamingypsy

I would take the lump sum, I doubt I'll be here in 20 years...

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by SHIBUMI

I think that would be taxed again, the question is how do you make her part of the payout so it is only taxed once.

If you had 50 people you wanted to give money too, can you make them part of the payout so the money isn't taxed twice?????

Giving away a million dollars does not create a taxable event. See Post No. 10. Also, Google the unified gift and estate tax. You can give away up to $13.61 million with no tax due.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

So says the hundreds that lost it all. You have no choice to try find honest tax advisor and hope he/she don’t steer you wrong or have sticky fingers. Think you have headaches now? The headaches over money will be ten fold.

I'm starting from a position of someone who doesn't have any loans or mortgages, has a low-but-steady income, is still physically active, everything I possess is mine outright, my credit card debt is under $1000 and we pay it off in full every month. No significant savings, but we could afford to replace the roof if it started bending off (it's metal).

And then, to be a winner of megamillions - AFTER paying taxes receiving somewhere around $300 million? I am not concerned, at all, about tax advisors. I won't be able to spend the first $100 million in 5 years. If the IRS says they want another $100 million because I spent it wrong, it's fine. They can have another $100 million. I'll STILL have another $100 million left over and can live off the interest.

[kcrazorbackfan]

I’ll spread the wealth when I win it. 😉

[CosmicTrucker]

A very wise family friend once told me the dream of winning was more fun than actually winning. There is some truth to this.