The Mega Millions $672 million jackpot climbed after no tickets matched all six numbers in Tuesday night’s drawing. The numbers were 2, 4, 10, 48, 56 and gold Mega Ball 22.
A winner in Friday night’s draw could take the prize as 30 annual installments or as a one-time cash payout of $293.3 million. That cash option would fall to around $222.9 million after a mandatory 24% federal withholding, and to about $184.8 million under a 37% federal marginal tax rate.
Friday night draw
The jackpot is the biggest lottery prize of the year so far. A Mega Millions ticket buyer from Illinois won a $533 million jackpot in March, and the biggest claimed Powerball jackpot this year was $250.8 million for a lottery player from Arkansas.
The numbers also make the size of the prize easier to read in practical terms. The advertised $672 million is not the amount a winner would walk away with in cash, and the tax hit changes the final total again depending on how the payout is taken.
Taxes on Mega Millions
Under the installment option, the annual payout would be about $22.4 million before federal tax, or roughly $14.1 million after the 37% federal marginal tax rate. New York taxes lottery winnings at 10.9%, while Texas, Florida and California do not tax lottery winnings.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 290.4 million. For anyone holding a ticket, the immediate next step is simple: the next Mega Millions jackpot draw is scheduled for Friday night, and that is the drawing that will decide whether the prize keeps building or is paid out.
