Tax-Exempt Organizations and Raffle Prizes Reporting Requirements and Federal Income Tax Withholding

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Notice 1340 (March 2005)

Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division

This notice discusses federal tax reporting and income tax withholding requirements that apply to raffles conducted by organizations exempt under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. A tax-exempt organization that sponsors raffles may be required to secure information about the winner(s) and file reports on the prizes with the Internal Revenue Service. The organization may also be required to withhold and remit federal income taxes on prizes.

Reporting Raffle Prizes

“Raffle” Defined: In general, a raffle is considered a form of lottery. As such, a raffle generally refers to a method for the distribution of prizes among persons who have paid for a chance to win such prizes, usually determined by the numbers, or symbols, on tickets drawn. Generally, an exempt organization must report raffle prizes if (a) the amount paid reduced, at the exempt organization’s option, by the wager (the amount a person paid for the chance to win a prize), is $600 or more; and (b) the payout is at least 300 times the amount of the wager. The organization uses Form W-2G for this report.

Example 1: Wendy purchased a $1 ticket for a raffle conducted by X, an exempt organization. On October 31, 2004, the drawing was held and Wendy won $900. X must file Form W-2G with the IRS and give a copy of Form W-2G to Wendy.

A person receiving gambling winnings must furnish the exempt organization a statement on Form 5754 made under penalties of perjury stating his or her identity and the identity of any others entitled to the winnings (and their shares of the winnings.) When the person receiving winnings is not the actual winner, or is a member of a group of two or more winners on a single ticket, the recipient must furnish the exempt organization information listed on Form 5754, Statement by Person(s) Receiving Gambling Winnings, and the organization must file Forms W-2G based on that information.

The organization must keep Form 5754 for four years and make it available for IRS inspection. (See the specific instructions for Form 5754 for more information.) The exempt organization must file Forms W-2G with the IRS by the last day of February of the year after the year of the raffle. Use Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, to transmit Forms W-2G to the IRS.

The organization must also issue Forms W-2G to prize recipients by January 31 of the year after the year of the raffle. Withholding Tax on Raffle Prizes Regular Gambling Withholding: An organization that pays raffle prizes must withhold 25% from the winnings and report this amount to the IRS on Form W-2G. This regular gambling withholding applies to winnings of more than $5,000. If the organization fails to withhold correctly, it is liable for the tax.

Example 2: Lou purchased a $1 ticket for a raffle conducted by X, an exempt organization. On October 31, 2004, the drawing was held and Lou won $6,000. Because the proceeds from the wager are greater than $5,000 ($6,000 prize minus $1 ticket cost), X must withhold $1,499.75 ($5,999 x 25%) from Lou’s winnings. If X fails to withhold $1,499.75 before distributing the prize, X is liable for the withholding tax.

View IRS Notice 1340 in pdf format.