The Mega Millions jackpot climbed to $670 million—the fifth 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 amount after paying their taxes.
The next Mega Millions draw is set for Friday.
The six numbers drawn on Tuesday night were 12, 14, 26, 48, 52 and the gold Mega Ball 21.
If a winner emerges in the next draw, they can choose between receiving the $670 million spread across 30 annual payments or a lump sum cash prize of $317.8 million—often the popular choice.
If chosen, the lump sum payout will drop to $241.5 million after a mandatory federal tax withholding of 24% is applied.
The winner could then face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, depending on their taxable income, further slashing their winnings to $200.2 million.
If the winner chooses the installment route, their annual payments of around $22.33 million would drop to $14.1 million, if the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
The winner may also face additional taxes from their state of residence, as some states like New York tax lottery winnings at 10.9%, while others like Texas, Florida, and California don’t.
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The next drawing for the Mega Millions jackpot is scheduled for Friday night, which Mega Millions is promoting as the “Friday the 13th” draw. The lottery game noted that the last big Friday the 13th jackpot winner emerged last year when a ticket holder from Maine won the $1.348 billion prize—the third largest Mega Millions prize ever—on January 13, 2023.
The eventual winner of the Mega Millions jackpot will need to overcome abysmal odds of 1-in-302.6 million, which is even worse than the Powerball jackpot’s already terrible odds of 1-in-292.2 million.
In September, a single ticket holder from Texas won a $800 million Mega Millions jackpot, the second biggest Mega Millions prize of the year so far. The biggest Mega Millions prize of the year was claimed in March by a single ticket holder in New Jersey who won a $1.13 billion jackpot.
Mega Millions Jackpot Eclipses $600 Million—Here’s How Much The Winner Could Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)