Mega Millions Jackpot Hits $800 Million—Here’s What The Winner Could Take Home
Topline
The Mega Millions jackpot reached $800 million after no jackpot or second prize winners were announced following Friday’s drawing, though winning the biggest lottery prize of the year will come with a smaller payout after taxes and deductions.
The next Mega Millions drawing is scheduled for Tuesday night.
Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
The winning numbers drawn Friday night were 2, 5, 42, 44, 60 and gold Mega Ball 1.
If a participant wins the next draw Tuesday night, they will choose between 30 annual installments of an estimated payout of $800 million or a lump sum of $344.2 million.
A winner who chooses the cash payout will see their winnings drop to about $261.6 million after immediate federal taxes of 23% are applied.
The winner will also eventually be subject to a federal marginal rate as high as 37% since they will be pushed into a higher tax bracket, dropping their winnings down to about $216.9 million.
Installment payments of $26.6 million would fall to about $16.8 million after the 23% and 37% federal taxes are applied.
The winner could experience further taxes depending on where they live, as states like New York tax lottery winnings at 10.9% while others such as Texas, Florida and California do not.
Big Number
1-in-290.4 million. Those are the odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery jackpot. The Powerball’s winning odds are worse, coming in at 1-in-292.2 million.
Tangent
The Powerball’s next drawing is Saturday night, with participants hoping to win the $600 million estimated jackpot. The lump sum reward for the jackpot after taxes is about $165.6 million.
Key Background
The Mega Millions jackpot is the largest lottery prize of 2026 so far. A $533 million jackpot was won by a Mega Millions ticket buyer from Illinois in March, while the largest Powerball jackpot of the year won by a buyer was $250.8 million. However, this year’s Mega Millions jackpot has not come close to 2025, when a buyer from Georgia won $983 million before taxes.
This content is sourced from www.forbes.com and is shared for informational purposes only.
