Mega Millions Jackpot Reaches Almost $1B, How Much Would the Winner Get?

Mega Millions’ six numbers drawn on Tuesday night were 10, 13, 40, 42, 46, and Mega Ball 1, but after no tickets matched all of them, the jackpot climbed to $965 million, making it the second-largest lottery prize of the year so far.

Mega Millions Jackpot Continues to Rise

The next Mega Millions drawing is set for Friday night, November 14, while the Powerball jackpot, which is now up to $512 million, will be drawn on Wednesday night. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot stand at 1 in 290.4 million. While these odds are still astronomical, they are slightly better than the previous odds of 1 in 302.5 million. Earlier this year, Mega Millions introduced several changes aimed at improving players’ chances of winning both the jackpot and smaller prizes.

Yesterday, before the Tuesday draw, we reported that the Mega Millions Jackpot reached $900 million. Since no one won that, the jackpot climbed by another $65 million. If no one wins the Friday draw as well, we can almost surely assume that the jackpot will then cross the $1 billion threshold.

Despite that colossal sum, this will not break the all-time record for a Mega Millions jackpot. That was $1.602 billion, which was won on August 8, 2023, in Neptune Beach, Florida. The winning ticket was purchased at a Publix supermarket, and the winner opted for the cash payout of $794.2 million.

How Much Would the Potential Winner Get?

If someone wins the next drawing, they’ll have two options: take the $965 million jackpot as 30 annual payments or choose a one-time cash payout of $445.3 million, which is a route most winners tend to prefer. Opting for the lump sum would immediately reduce the prize to about $338.4 million after the mandatory 24% federal tax withholding. Depending on the winner’s total taxable income, they could face a federal marginal tax rate of up to 37%, which would bring their take-home amount down to roughly $280.5 million.

If the installment option is selected instead, the annual payments of about $32.16 million would shrink to around $20.26 million after applying the same 37% federal tax rate. Depending on where the winner lives, they may also owe state taxes. Some states, such as New York, which taxes lottery winnings at 10.9%, will take a significant cut. 

Whatever option the winner chooses, however, they would still become a multi-millionaire with one lucky ticket.