Do you pay tax on your lottery winnings? 5 things about Powerball and Lotto you need to know

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Published May 6, 2022

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Durban – In the face of tough economic times, many people are opting to try their luck in Powerball and Lotto games.

Every week, these games offers players a chance to win millions of rand.

With jackpots sometimes rolling over for weeks on end, enticing jackpots worth more than 100 million have been up for grabs – and even won.

If you are a Powerball or Lotto player, here are some of the things you should know, according to Ithuba.

How much tax do you pay on your Lotto winnings?

All Lotto winnings are paid out tax free.

How do you collect your winnings?

For claims on winnings of R50 000 and above, winners are requested to provide their ticket with their details written at the back, proof of identity as well as a letter of confirmation of banking details or a 3-month bank statement. Winners are then offered trauma counselling and financial advice. Payment of all winnings are transferred into your bank account within 72 hours.

If you’ve played Lotto on your banking app, does your bank notify you?

Yes, the bank sends you a notification – winnings below R50 000 are automatically transferred into your account. For winnings above R50 000, the bank will notify the winner via an SMS and phone them to advise them of their win and refer them to their nearest Ithuba office to process their winning claim.

Where are most winners from?

There have winners from all nine provinces.

Do Quick Picks win more regularly than manually selected numbers?

We cannot provide an explanation on this as we have a varied portfolio of games and each game performs differently. It’s tricky to confirm whether quick picks win more frequently than numbers chosen manually.

IOL