Mega Millions
Mega Millions Tax Calculator
Mega Millions pays its jackpot as one immediate payment plus 29 annual payments, each 5% bigger than the one before — or as the cash in the prize pool. Compare both after federal, state and local tax.
Mega Millions jackpot — results
Lump sum · take-home
52.1% kept of $230,000,000
Annuity · 30 payments
Year 1 $4,008,242 → year 30 $16,180,240
| Cash received | $230,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | −$85,050,411 |
| Tax to New York | $0 |
| New York tax | −$25,078,301 |
| Local income tax | $0 |
| You keep | $119,871,289 |
| Federal withholding (24%) | −$55,200,000 |
|---|---|
| State withholding | not published |
| Check you receive | $174,800,000 |
| Still owed when you file | $54,928,711 |
Data: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 · state agencies, verified · what this leaves out
The game since the $5 ticket
Mega Millions now costs $5 per play with a multiplier included, and the multiplier applies to every prize except the jackpot. Players pick five numbers from 1 to 70 and a Mega Ball. The consortium’s FAQ explains that the advertised annuity value is based on the day’s 30-year U.S. Treasury rate, while the cash option equals all the cash in the jackpot prize pool — so the gap between the two moves with interest rates.
The game is sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah do not sell it; their residents can still win on tickets bought elsewhere and are taxed at home where an income tax exists.
A $500 million jackpot in New York City vs Florida
Consider a married couple with $150,000 of other income who win a $500 million jackpot with a $230 million cash value. Living in New York City, the cash option leaves $110,956,489: federal tax of $85,050,411, New York State tax at the flat 10.9% that applies above $25 million of AGI ($25,078,301) and city tax of $8,914,800. The same couple in Florida keeps $144,949,590. Over the annuity, the totals are $244,536,243 and $316,487,685.
The annuity’s first payment would be $7,525,718 and its last $30,976,874. Each payment is taxed in its own year, so for a New Yorker most payments fall between $5 million and $25 million — taxed at New York’s fully recaptured 10.3% rather than 10.9% — which is part of why the annuity’s total looks better there than the cash.
If the winner dies
Mega Millions says annuity payments continue on schedule to the winner’s designated beneficiary or estate. Estate tax and the income tax on payments received by heirs are outside this calculator; see what it leaves out.
Everything about Powerball’s structure is the same except the price and multiplier rules — compare on the Powerball tax calculator.
Verified · Sources: megamillions.com How to Play, FAQs and Where to Play; IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32; NYS IT-2105-I (2026).