A single ticketholder from Texas won the $800 billion Mega Millions jackpot on Tuesday—the fourth biggest lottery prize of the year so far—although they will take home a significantly smaller amount after paying their taxes.
A Mega Millions ticket sold in Texas won Tuesday's $800 million jackpot.
Mega Millions announced a ticket sold in Texas matched all six numbers drawn on Tuesday night— 1, 2, 16, 24 and 66, plus the gold Mega Ball 6.
The winner now has to make a choice between receiving the full $800 million payout split across 30 annual installments or a lump sum cash prize of $404.2 million—usually the popular pick among winners.
The cash prize will drop to $307.2 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 $254.6 million.
If the winner chooses the installment route, their annual payments of $26.7 million would drop to $16.8 million if the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
Unlike several other states, Texas does not tax lottery winnings.
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1-in-302.6 million. Those are the over-the-top odds Tuesday night’s winner had to overcome to win the jackpot. This is even worse than the Powerball jackpot’s already abysmal odds of 1-in-292.2 million.