(NEXSTAR) — The Powerball has done it again. Without a winner in Monday night’s drawing, the jackpot has grown, reaching an estimated $643 million with a cash value of $290.6 million. There’s even a chance it will grow again before Wednesday’s drawing.
Regardless of whether the Powerball jackpot remains at $643 million or grows, you would take home far less if you overcome the odds and win on Wednesday. You can thank taxes.
Whether you take the annuitized payout or the cash prize, you’ll see 24% in federal tax withheld immediately. With additional taxes, you’ll see roughly 37% of your prize money withheld, should you win.
Cash vs. annuity: Which payout should you pick if you win Mega Millions, Powerball jackpots?
There are only a handful of states that do not have a local lottery tax withholding. It’s within these states that the winner of the current jackpot would lose the least of their winnings to taxes.
Your total annuitized payout ($643 million, pre-tax, spread out over 30 annual payments) would total nearly $406.4 million, according to an analysis by USA Mega. If you selected the cash option (which financial experts recommend), you would take home roughly $183.1 million.
While both are far less than the advertised annuitized and cash prizes, winners in some states have it worse.
Across states that do have lottery taxes, Arizona has the lowest rate, according to USA Mega. There, a Powerball winner stands to take home an estimated cash payout of $175.9 million. If they selected the annuitized option, they could receive roughly $390.3 million over 30 years.
A winner in New York would take home far less after state tax withholdings. USA Mega found the payouts there would be about $336.3 million in annuitized payments or $151.4 million with the cash option — barely more than half of the advertised estimated prize amounts.
Want to ensure a Powerball jackpot win? How many tickets you’d need to buy
Ready to find out how much you will (or will not, depending on how you look at it) take home, should you win the Powerball jackpot on Wednesday? The interactive map below shows the estimated annuitized or cash payouts, post-tax, in each state. You’ll notice a few states are gray on the map — these do not participate in Powerball or Mega Millions.
It’s important to remember that these are estimates. The jackpot could go up or down before the next drawing. Plus, a jackpot can be split between multiple winners. While the odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 292.2 million, more than 15 have been split by two or more tickets that matched the winning numbers.
If you’re lucky enough to win the jackpot, even if you aren’t the sole winner, experts recommend moving quickly to assemble a team that includes an attorney, a tax advisor and a financial advisor. They also encourage protecting your ticket and keeping your victory a secret for as long as possible.
At its estimated value, the current Powerball jackpot ranks as the largest of the year, surpassing a $515 million prize won by a ticket sold in California in March. It’s also now the largest jackpot since a $1.326 billion payout was secured by a ticket in Oregon in April 2024.
The next drawing is scheduled for 10:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Powerball tickets are $2 each and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
