Both of the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots are worth well over $400 million. Before you start dreaming of how you'd spend the windfall, just how much would be left over if you were to win?
The website usamega.com has done the calculations on the tax liability and what you could "take-home" depending on whether you chose an annuity or lump sum payment.
Powerball
The current Powerball jackpot for Saturday, Sept. 18 is expected to be $457 million with a cash option value of $331,600,000.
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If you chose the cash value option, you'd pay roughly 37% in various federal taxes reducing your jackpot to $208,943,928, according to usamega.com. Texas doesn't tax lottery winnings, so you'd have no further tax burden like winners in some other states who have to pay an additional 5% to 9% in state taxes.
If you chose the annuity, you would receive 30 average annual payments of $15,233,333, before taxes, or $9,632,928 after taxes, though because the Powerball lottery jackpot is awarded according to an annually-increasing rate schedule, early years include smaller payments while the final years include much larger payments. The Texas annuity payments, usamega.com says, total $288,987,840 after taxes.
Mega Millions
The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday, Sept. 17, is $405 million with a cash value option of $294,700,000.
If you chose the cash value option, you'd pay roughly 37% in various federal taxes reducing your jackpot to $185,275,928, according to usamega.com. Texas doesn't tax lottery winnings, so you'd have no further tax burden like winners in some other states who have to pay an additional 5% to 9% in state taxes.
If you chose the annuity, you would receive 30 average annual payments of $13,500,000, before taxes, or $8,540,928 after taxes, though because the Mega Millions lottery jackpot is awarded according to an annually-increasing rate schedule, early years include smaller payments while the final years include much larger payments. The Texas annuity payments, usamega.com says, total $256,227,840 after taxes.
So, what are you going to do with your winnings?
