Powerball Jackpot Hits $681 Million—Here’s What The Winner Could Take Home

Topline

The Powerball jackpot climbed to $681 million—the third biggest lottery prize of 2025 so far—after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Monday night, although the eventual winner will take home a much smaller payout after taxes and deductions.

Key Facts

The six numbers drawn on Monday night were 8, 16, 26, 30, 58 and Red Powerball 14.

If a winner emerges in the next draw, they can choose between taking the $681 million prize split over 30 annual installments or a one-time cash payment of $315.7 million—the preferred choice for most winners.

If the lump-sum option is chosen, the winnings will first drop to around $240 million after a mandatory federal withholding of 24% is applied.

The winner would likely face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, depending on their taxable income, further reducing the winnings to around $199 million.

If the installment route is picked, the winner’s annual payments of $22.7 million would fall to $14.3 million after the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.

Depending on their state of residence, the winner could face additional taxes, as some states, such as New York, tax lottery winnings at 10.9%, while others, such as Texas, Florida, and California, don’t.

Big Number

1 in 292.2 million. Those are the astronomical odds a Powerball ticket buyer will have to overcome to win the jackpot prize. This is even worse than the Mega Millions jackpot’s already poor odds of 1 in 290.4 million.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/11/25/powerball-jackpot-rises-681-million-heres-what-the-winner-could-take-home-after-taxes/