Topline
The Mega Millions jackpot prize rose to $520 million—the third biggest lottery prize of the year so far—after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Tuesday night, although the eventual winner will take home a much smaller payout after paying their taxes.
Mega Millions jackpot prize is now the third this year to cross the $500 million mark.
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Key Facts
If a winner emerges in the next draw, they will have a choice between taking the $520 million jackpot spread over 30 annualized payments or a one-time lump sum cash payout of $240.1 million—the preferred option for most winners.
If the cash payout is chosen, the winnings will drop to $182.5 million after a mandatory federal withholding of 24% is applied.
The winner could then face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, depending on their taxable income, which would further reduce their winnings to approximately $151.2 million.
If the winner picks the installment route, their annual payments of around $17.33 million would drop to $10.9 million if the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
The winner may also face additional taxes from their state of residence, as some states, such as New York, tax lottery winnings at 10.9%, while others, such as Texas, Florida, and California, don’t.
What To Watch For
The next Mega Millions lottery drawing is scheduled for Friday night. The Powerball jackpot currently stands at $174 million, and the next drawing is set to take place on Wednesday night.
Big Number
1-in-290.4 million. Those are the astronomical odds a Mega Millions ticket buyer will have to overcome to win the big prize. This, however, represents a slight improvement over the competition’s earlier odds of 1 in 302.5 million, prior to Mega Millions’ implementation of major changes that also enhanced the odds of winning smaller prizes.
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