According to HMRC, participating in the lottery counts as gambling in the United Kingdom, more than just income. So, if you're lucky enough to win, rest assured that your winnings are tax-free. It doesn't matter how much you win or what game you play. When you start selling those investments and making a profit, you may have to pay taxes.
The fee you'll pay is 10% or 20%. It's 10% if you're a taxpayer with a basic rate when it comes to your income (see above), or 20% if you're a taxpayer with higher or additional rates. However, the problem with a big lottery win is that the value of your estate will increase dramatically, increasing your potential inheritance tax liability. Any gambling activity in the UK requires a license, and for-profit gambling companies pay a 15% tax on all profits; however, online gambling providers will be charged a 21% tax on their online winnings.
At some point, you've probably daydreamt about what you would do with your winnings if you were lucky and won the lottery. You don't pay any tax on lottery winnings in the United Kingdom, whether it's the regular lottery, scratch cards or even the EuroMillions. By the way, you don't have to win the lottery or be super rich to open a personal pension, it's highly recommended for everyone. Despite high taxes, the industry continues to grow rapidly thanks to constant innovation and loyal player bases.
However, while UK lottery winnings are tax-free, if you decide to split the prize money with the people closest to you, they may have to pay gift tax for the money they receive. Regardless of whether you use a charity lottery or a for-profit company and how much you win, you won't have to include the amount on your tax return. The beneficiaries of John's estate, who could well be John's own son, might have to pay a tax bill when inheriting the inheritance. This forced Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the time, to change the law on gambling and taxation in the United Kingdom.
We can confirm that all legitimate lottery winnings, online gambling and scratch cards are tax-free, meaning that if you win 1, 100 or 1 million pounds, you won't pay a penny to HMRC or the UK Government, so you won't have to worry about not receiving your full amount. This can cause problems for lottery syndicates, which could be trapped if the person receiving the check dies within seven years of winning. Because of some loopholes in the way the law worked back then, a gambling company could move abroad and avoid paying customers who paid a 9% tax on their profits. So when it comes to giving away lottery winnings to your family, there's really no limit to what you can give.
