close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

Here’s How Much a Winning Mega Millions Ticket Could Pay If the Jackpot Hits 0 Million
news

Here’s How Much a Winning Mega Millions Ticket Could Pay If the Jackpot Hits $800 Million

Topline

The Mega Millions jackpot has now reached $800 million after lottery players in the US were unable to produce a winning ticket. The winner will receive hundreds of millions of dollars after taxes, although that is less than half of the total amount.

Key Facts

A player who matches all six numbers in next Tuesday’s drawing can choose to win either $800 million in prize money, spread over 30 annual payouts, or $401.8 million.

The winner who chooses the $26.6 million annual payout will receive $16.8 million per year after federal taxes of 24% and 37% are applied.

The one-time amount of $401.8 million is reduced to $305.4 million after a 24% federal tax is taken into account.

The winner’s taxable income will reduce the winnings even further, potentially adding up to 37% in additional federal taxes, bringing the total to $253.2 million.

Depending on the winner’s place of residence, state taxes may also apply. For example, states like New York charge a 10.9% tax, while states like California, Florida and Texas leave winners’ income untouched.

Get Forbes Breaking News SMS Notifications: We’re launching text message alerts so you’re always up to date on the biggest stories making headlines today. Send “alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.

Surprising fact

According to Mega Millions, there have only been six jackpots that exceeded the $800 million top prize, all of which were over $1 billion.

Main background

The Mega Millions jackpot was last won in June, when a winner in Illinois took home the $552 million top prize. Since then, there have been 57 second-place winners totaling $1 million or more in 25 different states, Mega Millions reported, noting that there were nearly 1.7 million winning tickets in the Sept. 6 drawing (winning tickets can be worth between $2 million and $1 million). The largest winning ticket this year was for $1.1 billion, with the unclaimed winning ticket purchased in New Jersey.

Read more

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

Winning $1.3 Billion Powerball Ticket Sold — 4th Largest Ever — Here’s How Much the Winner Could Take Home (Forbes)