A Florida player won the $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot, according to the lottery’s website.
The Mega Millions website shows a single jackpot winner in this Tuesday’s drawing, and that the next jackpot on Friday was reset to $20 million. The state of the purchase of the winning ticket is in Florida.
The estimated jackpot would be the largest in the game’s nearly 27-year history. The maximum accumulated in the history of the Mega Millions was $1,537 million, a prize won by a single lucky person in October 2018 in South Carolina.
Tuesday’s winning numbers are 13-19-20-32-33 with the Mega Ball 14.
WHAT OPTIONS DOES THE WINNER HAVE?
When someone wins a lottery jackpot in games like Powerball or Mega Millions, they have two options: an annuity spread over 29 years, or a cash payment (significantly less).
Federal and state taxes will also reduce the money you take home, with deductions based on the state where you live.
As for federal taxes, the winner will see an automatic 24% withholding on their winnings. However, earning millions of dollars will put you in the upper bracket, which is taxed at 37% on income of $578,126 or more. That means you’ll almost certainly pay another 13% in taxes when you file your 2023 tax return.
And for state taxes, some states do not tax lottery winnings, while others have rates ranging from 2.9% to 10.9%.
Note that eight states do not charge income tax on lottery winnings: California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
If you want to participate in the Mega Millions drawings, they are held on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 pm ET.
Find out which state has won the most jackpots and other fun facts about this popular lottery.
