The Mega Millions jackpot has surged to $670 million, marking it as the fifth largest lottery prize of the year to date. This increase follows the absence of a winning ticket matching all six numbers in Tuesday night’s draw. The numbers drawn were 12, 14, 26, 48, 52, and the gold Mega Ball 21.…
Should a winner be identified in the upcoming draw, they will have the option to receive the $670 million either through 30 annual payments or as a lump sum cash prize of $317.8 million, which is the more common choice.…
Opting for the lump sum will result in an initial reduction to $241.5 million due to a mandatory federal tax withholding of 24%. Depending on the winner’s taxable income, they could face a federal marginal tax rate of up to 37%, further reducing their winnings to approximately $200.2 million.…
If the winner selects the installment method, their annual payments of around $22.33 million would decrease to $14.1 million after applying the 37% federal marginal tax rate.…
Additionally, the winner may be subject to state taxes, which vary significantly. For instance, New York imposes a 10.9% tax on lottery winnings, whereas states like Texas, Florida, and California do not tax lottery prizes at all.