Topline
The Mega Millions jackpot is projected to reach an estimated $1.55 billion for its next drawing on Tuesday, the lottery’s largest prize ever—though the winner could receive less than one-third of that amount after paying required taxes.
The Mega Millions jackpot is projected to reach $1.55 billion for its Tuesday drawing.
Key Facts
The winner—facing odds of 1 in 302.6 million—can receive the $1.55 billion over 30 annual payments or as an up-front lump sum of $757.2 million.
The lump sum payment would be reduced to $575.4 million by a mandatory federal tax withholding of 24%, while a federal marginal rate as high as 37%—depending on the winner’s taxable income—could drop the winnings to just over $477 million.
Several states tax lottery winnings, with rates as low as 2.5% in Arizona ($18.9 million) to as high as 10.9% in New York ($82.5 million), though some states—including California, Florida and Texas, among others—don’t tax lottery winnings.
Two tickets won $2 million in Friday night’s drawing, in addition to seven other tickets that won $1 million.
Surprising Fact
The largest jackpot ever won is a $2.04 billion Powerball prize claimed last year. The Mega Millions jackpot is projected to be the third-largest prize ever, trailing a $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot won in 2016.
Big Number
5,331,114. That’s how many winning tickets were sold for Friday’s drawing. Of those, 24 won $20,000 and 104 won $10,000.
Key Background
The Mega Millions jackpot has eclipsed the $1 billion mark four other times, each in the last five years. All 10 of the largest jackpots ever have been claimed in the last seven years, after both the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries increased the number of white ball numbers to draw from, worsening the odds of winning either jackpot. The Powerball jackpot most recently eclipsed $1 billion last month, after a ticket holder won $1.08 billion in California.
Further Reading
Here Are The Top 10 Lottery Jackpots Of All Time—As Mega Millions Reaches $910 Million (Forbes)
Mega Millions Jackpot Hits $1.25 Billion—Here’s How Much The Winner Will Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)
