Powerball Jackpot Crosses $850 Million—Here’s What The Winner Could Take Home
The Powerball jackpot rose to $856 million—the biggest lottery prize of the year so far—after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Wednesday night, although the eventual winner will take home a much smaller payout after taxes and deductions.
The six numbers drawn on Wednesday night were 14, 20, 59, 60, 61 and Red Powerball 25.
If a winner emerges in the next draw, they can choose between taking the $856 million split across 30 annual installments or a one-time cash prize of $372 million—the preferred pick for most winners.
If the lump sum prize is claimed, the winnings will first drop to $282.7 million after a mandatory 24% federal withholding 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 $234.4 million.
If the installment option is chosen, the winner’s annual payouts of $28.5 million will drop to around $18 million after the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
Depending on their place of residence, the winner could face additional taxes, as some states, such as New York, tax lottery winnings at 10.9%, while others, such as Texas, Florida, and California, don’t.
Starting last month, the Powerball Jackpot expanded to include U.K. lottery players, which officials claim will lead to “faster-growing jackpots,” with additional ticket sales contributing to the prize fund. If a U.K. player wins the jackpot, they can only receive the prize spread across 30 annual installments as they don’t have an option to choose a one-time cash payout. The Powerball jackpot prize advertised by the National Lottery is £444 million" href="https://www.national-lottery.co.uk/games/powerball/results" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">U.K. National Lottery is £444 million ($597.6 million). While this appears to be significantly lower than the $856 million, U.K. lottery officials note it reflects the estimated amount a winner would receive over a 30-year period, “after exchange rates and UK tax requirements have been taken into account.”
This has grown to become the biggest lottery prize of the year so far, pipping an $800 million Mega Millions jackpot that was won by a Florida ticket buyer last Tuesday. Of the Powerball jackpots that have been claimed so far, 2026’s biggest is a $250.8 million prize won by a lottery player from Arkansas.
The next Powerball drawing is set to take place on Saturday night.
1-in-292.2 million. Those are the astronomical odds a Powerball ticket buyer will need to overcome to win the jackpot prize. This is even worse than the Mega Millions jackpot’s already poor odds of 1-in-290.4 million.