Topline
No one bagged Monday night’s billion-dollar Halloween Powerball draw, sending the jackpot soaring to $1.2 billion for the next draw on Wednesday, the lottery said, though any lucky winner will face a hefty tax bill and take home much less than the headline prize—here’s how much.
Wednesday’s Powerball has a jackpot of $1.2 billion.
Key Facts
Powerball lottery winners can choose between receiving the full prize as an annuity—a series of 30 payments paid over 29 years—or as a single lump sum payment.
The single payment is less than the advertised jackpot (which emphasizes the value of the annuity prize) but is the most popular option among winners and Wednesday’s cash prize is worth an estimated $597 million.
A mandatory federal tax withholding of 24% on gambling winnings would immediately reduce that amount by $143 million for a single prize winner, who would take home $454 million, though the taxman is far from finished.
The top federal marginal rate is 37%, meaning a single taxpayer with no other income, dependents or tax deductions like charitable giving would need to set aside an additional $78 million for taxes and can expect the overall prize to be whittled down to $376 million.
State and city taxes, depending on where the winner lives and where they bought the winning ticket, are very likely to eat into this sum further.
A winner opting for the annuity payment is set to receive around $40 million a year, though this would be reduced to $25 million by federal taxes and would likely be cut further by state and city taxes.
Key Background
The grand prizes up for grabs in lottery jackpots have soared in recent years. Huge jackpots are a feature, not a bug, of lottery design and the rules are structured to make it easier to win but harder to win big. The Powerball has been drawn 38 times without a jackpot winner, the last of which was in August, the lottery said, and Wednesday’s upcoming draw marks the lottery’s second-largest jackpot in its history and the fourth-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. Though there was no jackpot winner for Monday night’s Halloween draw, Powerball said more than 5.4 million tickets won cash prizes totaling nearly $60 million. Of these, 13 tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million, three of these having opted to double their winnings through an additional $1 a play.
What To Watch For
Wednesday’s Powerball drawing is set to broadcast live at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery studio. The drawings are also live streamed online at Powerball.com. The lottery said the odds of winning the $1.2 billion jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
Big Number
$1.59 billion. That’s the value of Powerball’s largest jackpot, which was shared between three winners in California, Florida and Tennessee in January 2016. The lottery said this prize holds the world record for the largest lottery jackpot.
Further Reading
Powerball Jackpot Hits $1 Billion—Here’s How Much A Winner Would Actually Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)
Mega Millions: Do This If You Win The $1 Billion Lottery Jackpot (Forbes)
Powerball jackpot hits $1B again. An expert says it’ll happen more often. (WaPo)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/11/01/powerball-jackpot-swells-to-12-billion-after-no-ticket-wins-halloween-draw-heres-the-tax-bill-if-you-win/