Unveiling the $800M Mega Millions Jackpot: Discover the Real Take-Home Amount

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(NEXSTAR) — An enormous lottery jackpot is once again up for grabs, although the expected taxes might dampen the excitement of the lucky winner. This marks the second time this year that a near-record prize is being offered.

The Mega Millions draw on Halloween night saw no winners for the numbers 2, 24, 52, 66, 68, and the gold Mega Ball 9. This lack of winners has now increased the jackpot to an estimated $800 million for the upcoming Tuesday draw.

Even without further increases, this jackpot—with a cash option of $371.7 million—is set to be the ninth-largest in Mega Millions history.

$1.602 billion: Aug. 8, 2023; Florida
$1.537 billion: Oct. 23, 2018; South Carolina
$1.348 billion: Jan. 13, 2023; Maine
$1.337 billion: July 29, 2022; Illinois
$1.269 billion: Dec. 27, 2024; California
$1.128 billion: March 26, 2024; New Jersey
$1.050 billion: Jan. 22, 2021; Michigan
$810 million: Sept. 10, 2024; Texas
Est. $800 million: Current
$656 million: Mar. 30, 2012; Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland

This prize also ranks as the 16th-largest jackpot when considering both Powerball and Mega Millions games, coming in just $10 million short of the Texas prize won in September 2024.

If someone wins this jackpot in the next four weeks, it would be the first Mega Millions grand prize awarded in November since 2016. It would also be the largest November win ever, surpassing the $324 million record set in New York back in 2014.

Curious about how to ensure a win in the $714M Mega Millions jackpot? Here’s how many tickets you’d need to buy.

Federal and state taxes (except in jurisdictions without a state lottery tax) will diminish the jackpot payout, regardless of whether a winner selects the cash prize or the annuitized option of 30 annual payments.

Should you win, you’ll immediately owe 24% to the IRS. On top of that, you’ll owe up to 37% in a federal marginal tax rate.

That would leave you with roughly $234.2 million with the cash prize or $505.3 million after all the annuitized payments have been dispersed, an analysis by USA Mega found. That cuts your payout by about $137.5 million or $294.7 million of the advertised prizes, respectively.

With the exception of a handful of states, you would also owe a state lottery tax. After accounting for that, you would, at best, take home about $224.9 million in cash or $485.3 million over the life of your annuitized payments. That nearly cuts your prize in half.

The interactive map below shows how much of the jackpot you would lose to withholdings in each state, as well as what your total estimated payout would be, per USA Mega’s analysis.

If you can overcome the odds (which did improve when Mega Millions was overhauled earlier this year) and win the jackpot on Tuesday, experts recommend getting your affairs in order before coming forward to collect the prize.

That will include deciding between the smaller cash option or the annuitized payout of a one-time payment, followed by 29 annual checks that increase by 5% each year. Which is better for you may vary.

The next Mega Millions drawing is set for 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday, followed by a drawing on Friday at the same time. Tickets are $5 each and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.