A lottery ticket can sometimes become a ticket to a completely different life. This is also shown by data from the State Tax Inspectorate (STI) – last year there was more than one resident in Lithuania whose winnings amounted to tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros.

According to Martynas Endrijaitis, head of the State Tax Inspectorate, in 2025, 22 residents won from 50 thousand to 100 thousand euros. Another 13 residents’ winnings exceeded 100 thousand euros.

However, the most impressive number from last year was 2,2 million euros. This was the largest lottery prize won in 2025, about which the State Tax Inspectorate received information.

Read alsoWhat to do on Saturday in Vilnius? Calendar of events (September 5)Today, Bernardine Garden will become a global campus: dozens of countries in one place

So, although the majority of lottery tickets do not bring large winnings, statistics show that every year there are residents in Lithuania for whom one ticket can bring tens, hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros.

According to M. Endrijaitis, in 2025, 22 residents won from 50 to 100 thousand euros, 13 residents won more than 100 thousand euros, and the largest win of the year was 2,2 million euros.

Success stories after winning a lottery ticket

As previously reported by the news portal tv3.lt, in the program “TV Pagalba” Dalia, who has a disability, and her husband Marius (name changed) told about an unexpected success story, during which a lottery ticket given to them by their husband became both a miracle and a curse at the same time. Having won almost 25 thousand euros, the couple experienced a shock and began to consider what to do with the money they had never seen before in their lives. However, the news from the municipality soon turned everything upside down. The lawyer also discussed another question that is relevant to everyone – should the winnings be shared with the spouse?

According to the lawyer, there is no single clear answer: although winnings can be treated as joint property acquired during marriage, their personal nature allows them to be considered as personal property, so each situation can be assessed individually.

Lawyer and advocate Valdemaras Bužinskas spoke out that there is no single clear answer when it comes to sharing lottery winnings with your spouse.

“This is a very good question. My wife and I even discussed it yesterday. I will admit that I don’t have a clear answer right away, because the situation is really not that simple and depends on the individual situation.”

“On the one hand, a lottery win is property acquired during the marriage, so the idea naturally arises that it could be considered common joint property of the spouses,” he said.

Who owns the winnings?

According to the expert, the winnings from the lottery belong to a specific person, so it can be assumed that it is personal, although the general rule still says that property acquired during marriage is usually considered joint.

“But on the other hand, winning is very personalized – it’s not the family or spouses together who win, but a specific person. If the person wasn’t married, there would be no questions, but in the case of marriage, the situation becomes debatable.”

“The general rule is that property acquired during marriage is the joint property of the spouses, regardless of which spouse’s name it was acquired in,” the interviewee shared.

According to the lawyer, the law has clear exceptions when property is personal, but it is unclear whether lottery winnings are included in them, so in the event of a divorce, this could be a dispute in court.

“Exceptions apply when the property is received as a gift to a particular spouse, inherited, or brought into the marriage before it was entered into. In such cases, it is considered personal property.”

“That’s why the question arises – which category should a lottery win be classified in? If, for example, during a divorce, one spouse said that it was only his money, and the other demanded a share of the winnings, such a dispute could completely end up in court,” he said.

Tax system after winning the lottery

The news portal tv3.lt reminds that not all lottery winnings in Lithuania are taxable, but in some cases, winners have to not only declare the income received, but also pay personal income tax. Experts explained what the obligation to pay taxes to the administrator depends on and when the winnings remain completely tax-free.

Rasa Virvilienė, Head of the Legal Department of the State Tax Inspectorate (STI), stated that the taxation/exemption of lottery winnings from personal income tax and declaration to the tax administrator depends on whether the person paying the winnings is a payer of lottery turnover tax, in what form (in cash or in kind) the winnings were paid, what their value was, and how many winnings the resident received from the same person during the tax period.

Non-monetary winnings worth more than EUR 100 and all monetary winnings (regardless of their value) are recognized as a person’s income.

When are winnings tax-free?

According to R. Virvilienė, those lottery winnings that are received from companies that have lottery organization licenses and that pay tax on lottery turnover in accordance with the procedure established by law are exempt from income tax, regardless of the value of the winnings, as well as whether the winnings are monetary or in kind.

For example, lottery winnings paid out to residents (in cash or in kind) by joint-stock companies “Olifėja” and “Žalgirio lotos” are not taxed.

Income tax is also not applicable to lottery winnings received by residents from lottery organizers in other European Economic Area (EEA) states, if the latter also pay tax on lottery turnover in accordance with the procedure established by the legal acts of these states.

The STI representative further noted that a relief is applied to winnings received from other companies organizing lotteries that do not pay tax on lottery turnover, when the winning amount (value) does not exceed EUR 200 and they are received from the same person no more than 6 times per calendar year, and they are also exempt from tax.

This benefit does not apply if lottery winnings are received from an organizer established in the target territory and the entire amount (value) of lottery winnings in such a case is attributed to the taxable income of the resident.

Winnings that are taxable

According to the Head of the Legal Department of the (VMI), lottery winnings are taxed when they are received from organizers in Lithuania or other EEA states that are not payers of lottery turnover tax, and the amount (value) of the winnings is greater than 200 euros, as well as the seventh and subsequent winnings received from the same person, regardless of whether the value of each is greater than 200 euros or not.

Also, according to information from the State Tax Inspectorate, they are taxed when lottery winnings exceeding EUR 200, the seventh and subsequent winnings, are received from lottery organizers outside the EEA.

According to STI data, when calculating the number of winnings received, non-cash winnings received from the same person with a value of no more than 100 euros are not included, because for income tax purposes they are not considered a resident’s income received in kind.

Declaration of income from lottery winnings

R. Virvilienė emphasizes that lottery winnings are subject to personal income tax, applying the personal income tax rate of the Republic of Lithuania at 15, 20, 25 and 32 percent, if the income received is not classified as exempt income:

· The 15% income tax rate applies to the annual portion of income not exceeding 12 average wages (hereinafter referred to as VMU) (in 2026 — EUR 27,745.80 per year);

· 20% income tax rate applies to the annual portion of income exceeding 12 VMU, but not exceeding 36 VMU (in 2026 — EUR 83,237.40 per year);

· The annual portion of income from 36 VMU to 60 VMU will be taxed at a 25 percent income tax rate (in 2026 — from EUR 83,237.40 to EUR 138,729 per year);

· A 32 percent income tax rate will be applied to the annual income of a resident that exceeds 60 VMUs (in 2026 — from EUR 138,729 per year).

The income tax on lottery winnings, which are subject to income tax, must be calculated, declared and paid to the budget by the resident himself. Residents must declare their annual income for the previous tax period and pay income tax by May 1 of the following calendar year.