Powerball Jackpot Hits $663 Million—Here’s What The Winner Could Take Home
The Powerball jackpot rose to $663 million—the second 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 Monday night were 6, 26, 46, 58, 65 and Red Powerball 25.
If a winner emerges in the next draw, they will have a choice between taking the $663 million split across 30 annual installments or a one-time cash prize of $290.4 million—the preferred pick for most winners.
If the cash prize is chosen, the winnings will first drop to $220.7 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 $182.9 million.
If the installment option is chosen, the winner’s annual payouts of $22.1 million will drop to around $13.92 million after the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
Depending on where they live, 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 week, the Powerball Jackpot has expanded to include U.K. lottery players. Officials have said this expansion will lead to “faster-growing jackpots,” as the additional ticket sales will contribute to the prize fund. However, if a British Powerball ticket buyer wins, they will not be offered a lump-sum payout option and can only receive the jackpot split across 30 annual payments. The advertised jackpot prize for U.K. players is £352 million ($467.8 million). While this appears significantly lower than the $663 million U.S. prize, the U.K. National Lottery says 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.”
The next Powerball drawing is set to take place on Wednesday night. On Tuesday night, the Mega Millions lottery is set to hold its next drawing for a jackpot that has surged to $800 million.
This is only the second lottery prize to cross the $650 million mark so far this year, behind only the ongoing Mega Millions jackpot. Of the prizes that have been claimed so far, the biggest of the year is a $533 million jackpot won by a Mega Millions ticket buyer from Illinois in March. The biggest completed Powerball jackpot of the year so far is a $250.8 million prize won by a lottery player from Arkansas.
To win the jackpot, a Powerball ticket buyer will need to overcome astronomical odds of 1-in-292.2 million. These odds remain unchanged despite the addition of U.K. lottery players, but it's worse than the Mega Millions jackpot’s already poor odds of 1-in-290.4 million.