You could win nearly $1 billion between the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots—how much you’d take home after taxes

News Room

The lottery jackpots for Powerball and Mega Millions have climbed to a combined total of nearly $1 billion — but the winners will end up taking home much less.

Powerball’s jackpot is worth $522 million and Mega Millions’ jackpot is $400 million ahead of late-evening draws on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

However, the take-home winnings could be as little as a quarter of the listed jackpot prize, based on taxes and payout options.

If you’re lucky enough to win, here’s how much you’d actually receive.

How payouts and taxes lower your jackpot winnings 

For payouts, there are two options: You can get the full jackpot amount as an annuity paid out over 30 years, or you can receive roughly 52% of the jackpot as a lump sum that’s paid out right away.

For the $522 million Powerball jackpot, the lump sum payout is $269,600,000. For the Mega Millions $400 million jackpot, it’s $205,000,000.

While the lump sum is much less than the annuity option, most winners pick the upfront payout since they can immediately invest and grow those funds.

And then there’s the tax bill. All lottery winnings are considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service, so every winner must pay a tax of at least 24% upfront. However, since the winnings exceed the top income bracket for taxpayers earning more than $578,125, you’re likely to owe an additional 13% in federal taxes when you file your tax return.

And most states charge an additional tax, too, ranging from 2.9% in North Dakota to 10.9% in New York, according to usamega.com.

How much you’d take home after winning Powerball’s $522 million jackpot

There are eight states that don’t charge taxes on lottery winnings: California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

For that reason, these states offer the highest possible take-home winnings from the $522 million jackpot. Assuming a top tax income rate of 37%, winners in these states will take home $329,971,350 for the annuity payout. For the upfront lump sum, it’s $169,885,045.

Winners take home much less in New York, the highest-taxed state. The winnings for the annuity are $273,073,350, and the payout for the lump sum is $140,498,645.

Check out current Powerball jackpot payout estimates in your state, based on calculations by usamega.com.

How much you’d take home after winning Mega Millions’ $400 million jackpot

Winners of the $400 million Mega Millions jackpot will take home the most money in the eight states that don’t charge a state tax. For the annuity option, that would be a maximum of $253,111,350. For the lump sum, the total would come to $129,187,045.

In New York, the annuity payout is almost $50 million less due to taxes, as winners would only take home $209,511,360. For the upfront cash lump sum, it’s $106,842,045 — just over a quarter of the total jackpot. 

Check out current Mega Millions jackpot payout estimates in your state, based on calculations by usamega.com.

Powerball’s next draw is Monday night at 10:59 p.m. ET. Mega Millions next draw is Tuesday night at 11:00 p.m. ET.

Just remember only to bet what you can afford to lose, as you probably won’t win the jackpot. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338, and the odds of winning the Mega Millions are 1 in 302,575,350.

DON’T MISS: Want to be smarter and more successful with your money, work & life? Sign up for our new newsletter!

Get CNBC’s free Warren Buffett Guide to Investing, which distills the billionaire’s No. 1 best piece of advice for regular investors, do’s and don’ts, and three key investing principles into a clear and simple guidebook.

Read the full article here

Share this Article
Leave a comment