Topline
A ticket buyer from Georgia won the $478 million Powerball jackpot on Wednesday—the sixth biggest lottery prize of the year so far—although they will take home a much smaller amount after paying their taxes.
A Powerball ticket buyer from Georgia won the $478 million.
Key Facts
Powerball announced that a single ticket sold in Georgia matched all six numbers drawn on Wednesday night—2, 15, 27, 29, 39, and the red Powerball 20.
The winner now has to choose between receiving the full $478 million spread across 30 annual installments or a lump sum cash prize of $230.6 million—usually the popular pick among winners.
The cash prize will drop to $175.26 million after a mandatory federal tax withholding of 24% is deducted.
Depending on their taxable income, the winner could face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, which would further slash their winnings to $145.28 million.
The state of Georgia also levies a 5.75% tax on lottery winnings, which in this case would drop the winnings to around $132 million.
If the winner chooses the installment route, their annual payments of $15.93 million would drop to around $10 million if the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
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Big Number
1-in-292.2 million. Those are the astronomical odds Wednesday night’s winner had to overcome to win the Powerball jackpot. The odds for the Mega Millions jackpot are even worse, at 1-in-302.6 million.
Key Background
The biggest lottery jackpot of the year so far is the $1.3 billion Powerball prize won by a ticket holder from Oregon. The winner was identified as Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, a Portland resident undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. While accepting his prize cheque, Saephan said he would use the winnings to provide for his family and find “a good doctor for myself.” The biggest Mega Millions prize of the year so far—a $1.13 billion prize—was claimed by a ticket buyer from New Jersey.
Further Reading
