Nearly $1 Billion Mega Millions Ticket Sold—Here’s What The Winner Owes In Taxes
Topline
A Mega Millions ticket sold in Georgia won the $980 million jackpot Friday, the eighth-largest since the game began in 2002, but the lucky winner faces a hefty tax bill.
Lottery tickets for the Mega Millions lottery are purchased from a liquor store where winning tickets have been sold on December 27, 2024 in Hawthorne, California. (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Key Facts
The six winning tickets drawn Friday, purchased from a Publix in Newnan, were 1, 8, 11, 12, 57 and gold Mega Ball 7.
The jackpot had been growing since the last winner, in Virginia, was awarded a $348 million prize in June.
The winner can choose to receive the $980 million prize in 30 annual installments or a lump sum cash payout of $452.2 million in cash—the preferred option for most winners.
If the winner picks the cash prize, their winnings will first drop to around $343.7 million after a mandatory federal withholding of 24% is applied.
The winner would likely face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, depending on their taxable income, further reducing the winnings to around $284.9 million.
If the installment route is chosen, the winner’s annual payments of around $32.6 million would fall to $20.5 million annually based on the current 37% top federal income tax rate.
Georgia taxes lottery winnings as ordinary income, and the state has a flat income tax rate of 5.19%, meaning the winner would also end up owing just under $23.5 million in taxes on the jackpot’s lump sum.
In all, if the winner takes the lump sum, they will likely end up taking home around $261.4 million after paying $190.8 million in taxes.
Big Number
1 in 290.5 million. Those were the odds of matching all six numbers.
Tangent
Friday’s drawing is the single highest payout in Georgia lottery history. The previous record in Georgia was set by a winner in Buford in October 2024, who won a $478.2 million jackpot.
Key Background
Friday’s drawing was not among the top 10 biggest U.S. lottery jackpots between Powerball and Mega Millions, but it was the eighth-largest Mega Millions jackpot since the game began in 2002. The biggest U.S. lottery jackpot in history was won by a California Powerball player in November 2022.
Further Reading
Mega Millions Jackpot Rises To $900 Million—Here’s How Much The Winner Could Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)
This content is sourced from www.forbes.com and is shared for informational purposes only.
