Mega Millions tax calculator
The jackpot is $463 million, but the cash value is $194.9 million, and that is before any tax. Here is what you would actually keep.
1. Choose a jackpot
2. Where did you buy the ticket?
3. What you actually take home
Select a state above to see your estimated take-home.
The same ticket, different states
At the current cash value of $194.9 million, where you bought the ticket is worth $21,244,100 in difference between the best and worst states.
Mega Millions tax calculator by state
Pick your state to see the take-home after federal and state tax.
- Alabama5.0%
- Alaska0%
- Arizona2.5%
- Arkansas3.9%
- California0%
- Colorado4.4%
- Connecticut6.99%
- Delaware0%
- Florida0%
- Georgia5.19%
- Hawaii11.0%
- Idaho5.3%
- Illinois4.95%
- Indiana2.95%
- Iowa3.8%
- Kansas5.7%
- Kentucky3.5%
- Louisiana3.0%
- Maine7.15%
- Maryland6.5%
- Massachusetts9.0%
- Michigan4.25%
- Minnesota9.85%
- Mississippi4.0%
- Missouri4.7%
- Montana5.9%
- Nebraska4.55%
- Nevada0%
- New Hampshire0%
- New Jersey10.75%
- New Mexico5.9%
- New York10.9%
- North Carolina3.99%
- North Dakota2.5%
- Ohio2.75%
- Oklahoma4.75%
- Oregon9.9%
- Pennsylvania3.07%
- Rhode Island5.99%
- South Carolina6.2%
- South Dakota0%
- Tennessee0%
- Texas0%
- Utah4.5%
- Vermont8.75%
- Virginia5.75%
- Washington0%
- Washington, D.C.10.75%
- West Virginia4.82%
- Wisconsin7.65%
- Wyoming0%
Mega Millions take-home at different jackpot sizes
What a single filer keeps from the lump sum, with no other income. Cash values are estimated at 46.0% of the advertised jackpot. The real figure moves with interest rates, so treat each row as a close approximation, not a quote.
| Advertised jackpot | Cash value | You keep in Texas | You keep in New York |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 million | $46 million | $29 million | $24 million |
| $250 million | $115 million | $72.5 million | $60 million |
| $500 million | $230 million | $144.9 million | $119.9 million |
| $1 billion | $460 million | $289.8 million | $239.7 million |
| $2 billion | $920 million | $579.6 million | $479.4 million |
Texas levies no state tax on lottery prizes. New York has the highest rate among lottery states, 10.9%, and the figure excludes New York City tax. Federal tax uses 2026 brackets for a single filer.
The biggest Mega Millions jackpots and what the winners kept
The five largest Mega Millions jackpots ever won. The take-home column is our estimate, not what the winner reported. It applies today's federal brackets and the winning state's current rate to the cash value for a single filer with no other income, and it splits the cash between winners where a jackpot was shared.
| Drawn | Jackpot | Cash value | Est. take-home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 2023 | $1.6 billion | $794.2 million | $500.4 million |
| Oct 23, 2018 | $1.54 billion | $877.8 million | $498.6 million |
| Jan 13, 2023 | $1.35 billion | $723.5 million | $404.1 million |
| Jul 29, 2022 | $1.34 billion | $780.5 million | $453.1 million |
| Dec 27, 2024 | $1.27 billion | $571.9 million | $360.3 million |
Dates link to the lottery or news report we checked. Jackpot and cash figures are as announced at the time. Winners who share a prize with family or friends, or who claim through a trust or LLC, may be taxed differently from this estimate. Where the table says “Took the cash”, the lottery or press reported a lump-sum claim.
The 10 biggest jackpots across both gamesHow Mega Millions works
Mega Millions draws are held Tuesday and Friday. A ticket costs $5, and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 290,472,336. When nobody matches all the numbers, the jackpot rolls over and grows.
Two ways to be paid
Winners choose between the cash value, a single payment of $194.9 million today, and the annuity, which pays the full $463 million across 30 graduated payments over 29 years, each 5% larger than the last. Roughly nine in ten winners take the cash. See our full comparison of the two options.
What actually reaches your account
The lottery withholds 24% federally at claim time. Your real federal liability on a jackpot is closer to 37%, and the shortfall is due when you file, a gap that catches out almost every winner. State tax then ranges from nothing to 10.9% depending on where the ticket was sold. We explain the mechanics in why only 24% was withheld.