The Powerball jackpot rose to $463 million after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Monday night, although the eventual winner will end up with a far smaller payout after their tax bill.
No one has won the Powerball since a ticket holder from Michigan won the $842 million jackpot on New ... [+]
If a winner emerges in the next draw, they will have a choice between a $463 million payout spread over 30 annual installments or a lump sum cash amount of $221.7 million—usually the more popular choice.
The cash amount will drop to $168.5 million after a mandatory federal tax withholding of 24%.
Depending on their final taxable income, the winner could face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, further dropping their winnings to $139.6 million.
Under the less popular installment route, the winner’s annual payments of around $15.43 million could drop as low as $9.72 million, if the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
Depending on the winner’s state of residence, they could face further taxes as some states like Texas, Florida, and California don’t tax lottery winnings while others like New York levy 10.9%.
To win the Powerball jackpot a ticket holder must overcome terrible odds of 1-in-292.2 million. The Mega Millions jackpot has an even more abysmal 1-in-302.6 million odds.
The next drawing for the Powerball jackpot will take place on Wednesday night.