Gambling winnings tax in Tennessee

Tennessee has no state income tax, so it does not tax your gambling winnings as income.

Checked against Tennessee’s own sources on 2026-10-05.

How Tennessee treats gambling losses

Tennessee has no income tax, so there is no Tennessee return for your losses to change. They still matter on your federal return, and can matter on another state’s return if you won there.

The two examples below are the same numbers the calculator uses. With no Tennessee income tax, only the federal figure changes.

Two examples, worked at 2026 federal rates

A single filer with $60,000 of other income who takes the standard deduction on everything except gambling losses.

A losing year

You win $50,000 and lose $52,000, so you finish down $2,000.

Federal: $3,596
Tennessee: $0
Total: $3,596

You finished the year down and still owe tax.

Federally you itemize, so your losses offset your winnings, but the 2026 rule caps that deduction at 90 percent and leaves $3,200 taxable. Tennessee has no income tax, so none of this is taxed at the state level.

A winning year

You win $50,000 and lose $10,000, so you finish up $40,000.

Federal: $10,350
Tennessee: $0
Total: $10,350

Federally you take the $16,100 standard deduction, which is worth more than itemizing, so your gambling losses do not reduce your federal tax at all. Tennessee has no income tax, so none of this is taxed at the state level.

Withholding on winnings

1, 2

Tennessee has no income tax, so no state income tax is withheld from your winnings. Any income tax withheld on a win here is federal.

If you do not live in Tennessee

Tennessee has no income tax, so it does not tax a visitor’s winnings as income either. If your home state taxes income, its own rules decide how it taxes the win, and there is no Tennessee income tax for it to credit.

More about Tennessee

The tax sportsbooks pay

The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council says sportsbooks pay a privilege tax of 1.85 percent of gross handle, which is roughly the total amount bet with them. The sportsbook pays it whether you win or lose. It is not a tax on you.3

Sources

Every figure above traces to a primary source: a statute, an administrative code, a state agency page, or official form instructions.

1. Tennessee Department of Revenue, Hall income tax (checked 2026-09-15)
2. Tenn. S.J.R. 1, 108th General Assembly, proposing an amendment to Tenn. Const. art. II sec. 28 (checked 2026-09-12)
3. Tennessee Sports Wagering Council, frequently asked questions, privilege tax (checked 2026-10-05)

We could not confirm these from an official source: whether any city or county tax applies.