Topline
The Mega Millions jackpot rose to $754 million — the second-largest lottery prize of the year — after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night, although the eventual winner will take home a much smaller payout after taxes and deductions.
The Mega Million jackpot prize rose to $754 million.
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Key facts
If a winner emerges in the next drawing, they will be able to choose between winning the $754 million prize, spread over 30 annual installments, or a one-time cash payout of $352.8 million – the preferred option for most winners.
If the winner chooses the cash prize, their winnings will first drop to $268.1 million after a mandatory 24% federal withholding is applied.
The winner would likely face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, depending on their taxable income, further reducing their winnings to $222.3 million.
If the installment route is chosen, the winner’s annual payments would drop from approximately $25.1 million to $15.8 million after the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
Depending on the home state, the winner may face additional taxes, as some states, such as New York, tax lottery winnings at 10.9%, while others, such as Texas, Florida and California, do not.
What to pay attention to
The next Mega Millions lottery drawing is scheduled for Friday evening. The Powerball jackpot currently stands at $376 million, and the next drawing will take place on Wednesday evening.
Big number
1 in 290.4 million. Those are the astronomical odds a Mega Millions ticket buyer must overcome to win the jackpot. This is a slight improvement over the competition’s even worse previous odds of 1 in 302.5 million. Mega Millions earlier this year implemented major changes that also increased the chances of winning both the jackpot and smaller prizes.
Important background
Last month, two Powerball ticket buyers from Missouri and Texas shared the second-largest lottery prize ever after winning a $1.78 billion jackpot. The current Mega Millions jackpot has now eclipsed a value Price of $526.5 million won by a Powerball ticket buyer from California in March. The largest Mega Millions prize claimed to date was a $349 million jackpot won by an Illinois resident in March.
Read more
Mega Millions Jackpot At $680 Million: Here’s How Much The Winner Can Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)
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