Dayton goes after taxes on lottery winnings

City has collected $35K since initiative began in October.

The city recently sent more than 300 letters to Ohio lottery winners to try to collect the unpaid taxes owed on their winnings.

The city of Dayton is makinga push to get its share of the money from hundreds of local lottery winners.

The city recently sent more than 300 letters to Ohio lottery winners to try to collect the unpaid taxes owed on their winnings.

City officials have identified unpaid taxes on lottery prizes dating back to 2014. The effort has already resulted in collection of $35,000 since October, when the initiative began, officials said.

“Our path to progress next year is to continue our very proactive tax collection efforts,” said LaShea Lofton, Dayton’s finance director.

The city also plans to hire an outside tax auditor to identify and audit tax compliance for individuals and businesses doing construction work in the city.

About 9,000 customers from the city of Dayton have won prizes of $600 or more since 2014, said Marie Kilbane, Ohio Lottery spokesperson.

Lottery prizes are considered income, and the Ohio Lottery reports all winnings of $600 or more to the Internal Revenue Service, Kilbane said.

The state sends people who win lottery prizes of $600 or more tax forms to report their winnings on their tax returns, the lottery said.

The Ohio Lottery withholds a 25 percent federal tax and 4 percent state tax for prizes of more than $5,000, but winners may owe additional taxes, officials said.

Not all municipalities tax lottery winnings. However, “customers should contact their local municipality to see if lottery winnings are taxed and take care of any reporting requirements,” according to the state lottery.

Ohio law requires the state lottery commission to withhold income taxes on every prize of $5,000 or more. Contact this reporter at 937-225-0749 or email Cornelius.Frolik@coxinc.com.