The Mega Millions jackpot has swelled to an estimated $1.1 billion, the fifth-largest in its history after no winning tickets were drawn Friday night, though a lucky winner—facing one-in-302-million odds—would take home less than half that amount after paying required taxes.
A ticket holder matching all five white balls and one “megaball” for the grand prize can choose between a payout over 30 annual installments or a one-time lump sum of $525.8 million.
A mandatory 24% federal tax withholding would reduce the lump sum to $399.6 million, while a federal marginal rate as high as 37%—depending on the winner’s taxable income and other tax deductions—would cut the winnings down to $331.2 million.
Annual installments would pay out an average of $23.1 million with a 37% federal marginal rate.
Lottery winnings are also subject to taxes in some states, including rates as high as 10.9% in New York ($57.3 million) to as low as 2.5% in Arizona ($13.1 million), though other states like California or Texas don’t tax winnings.
The jackpot is the fifth-largest in Mega Millions history. The four largest grand prizes were $1.3 billion or more. The grand prize is also the eighth-largest in U.S. lottery history, trailing a $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot won last year for seventh.
2.5 million. That’s how many non-jackpot-winning tickets were drawn Friday night, including six tickets that matched all five white balls for a $1 million prize. More than 26.2 million non-jackpot-winning tickets have been drawn since the Mega Millions jackpot was last won in December.
Mega Millions will hold its next drawing at 11 p.m. EDT on Tuesday. Powerball will hold its next drawing Saturday night for a $750 million jackpot. That grand prize includes a $360.8 million lump sum option, which would be reduced to $274.2 million after a 24% mandatory tax withholding or to $227.3 million with a federal marginal rate as high as 37%.
Here Are The Biggest Lottery Jackpots Of All Time (Forbes)
Here’s Why There Have Been So Many Massive Jackpots Recently (Forbes)
