close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

Mega Millions Jackpot Hits 0 Million – Here’s How Much a Winner Can Take Home After Taxes
news

Mega Millions Jackpot Hits $740 Million – Here’s How Much a Winner Can Take Home After Taxes

Topline

The Mega Millions prize rose to $740 million, the fourth-largest jackpot of the year so far, after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night. A winner, however, would take home a much smaller payout after taxes.

Key Facts

If a winner emerges in the next drawing, they can choose between receiving the $740 million jackpot, spread over 30 annual payments, or a one-time cash prize of $366.3 million. This is often the most popular choice.

If you choose this option, the one-time payment will drop to $278.4 million after a mandatory 24% federal tax withholding is applied.

The winner could then face a federal marginal rate of as much as 37%, depending on his/her taxable income, further reducing his/her profit to $230.8 million.

If the winner chooses the installment payment, his annual payments would drop from about $24.7 million to $15.5 million, applying the federal marginal rate of 37%.

The winner may also face additional taxes from their state of residence. Some states, such as New York, charge a 10.9% tax on lottery winnings, while others, such as Texas, Florida and California, do not.

Get Forbes Breaking News SMS Alerts: We’re launching SMS notifications so you’re always up to date on the biggest stories making headlines today. Send ‘notifications’ to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.

Large number

1 in 302.6 million. These are the abysmal odds a ticket buyer must overcome to win the Mega Millions jackpot. This is even worse than the already poor Powerball jackpot odds of 1 in 292.2 million.

What to look out for

The next Mega Millions jackpot drawing is scheduled for Friday night.

Main background

In April, a single ticket sold in Oregon won a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot, the largest lottery prize of the year so far. The winner was later identified as Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, a Portland resident who is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. Saephan said he split the prize with his girlfriend Laiza Chao, as the two had saved up money to buy the tickets. In March, a single ticketholder in New Jersey won a $1.13 billion jackpot, the largest Mega Millions prize of the year so far.

Read more

Mega Millions Jackpot Jumps to $681 Million — Here’s How Much a Winner Can Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)

$1.3 Billion Powerball Jackpot Winner Is Cancer Patient Looking Forward to Finding ‘A Good Doctor’ (Forbes)