The Mega Millions jackpot was raised Friday to an estimated $1.35 billion for Friday night’s drawing, the second highest in the game's history and the fourth-largest in U.S. history. So what would you win if you actually won?
If a sole player picks all five numbers plus the Mega Ball, they have the option of taking the annuitized $1.35 billion prize in 30 increments over 29 years or a one-time lump sum payment of $659.5 million.
A sole winner in Texas who took the cash option would take home about $501.2 million after paying 24% ($158 million) in federal taxes. There is no additional state tax on lottery winnings in Texas, however, the payout would move the winner into the highest tax bracket where an additional 13% could be owed ($86 million in this case).
If the player took the annuity, they would receive 30 payments over 29 years with the disbursement increasing at a rate of 5% per year. With a $1.35 billion prize, the first payment would be about $20.3 million, of which approximately $4.8 million would go toward taxes -- leaving them with a net of about $15.5 million. Because Mega Millions annuity payments increase every year, the final payment would be about $84 million with about $20 million owed in taxes -- leaving them with a final net payment of about $63.5 million.
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Over the term, the player who took the annuity would receive about $1.03 billion after taxes -- or about $525 million more than the player who took the cash option.
“The anticipation and enthusiasm surrounding this massive Mega Millions jackpot prize continues to sweep Texas, with our players daydreaming about what they may do if they win that prize,” said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery. “While we’re keeping our fingers crossed that a Texas Lottery player wins this jackpot, we want to remind our players to play responsibly."
The Texas Lottery said if you have a jackpot-winning ticket, sign it and put it in a safe place. They advise winners then seek financial and legal advice and call the Texas Lottery to schedule an appointment to claim the prize.
Texas has had 13 Mega Millions jackpot prize winners since it joined the game in 2003. Its most recent winner came in September 2019 when a Leander resident won an estimated annuitized $227 million prize. The claimant chose the cash value option and received $157,091,592 before taxes; the largest prize ever paid out to a single Texas Lottery player.
Since the start of 2023, eight Texas Lottery players have won second-tier Mega Millions prizes of $1 million or larger, including five during the current jackpot run.
Most recently, on the July 25 drawing, a player in Anna matched all five balls for a $1 million prize. The player also bought the Megaplier and quadrupled the prize to $4 million. That winning ticket was bought at the 7-Eleven on West White Street. On the June 30 drawing, a Dallas resident claimed a $1 million second-tier prize on a ticket bought in Austin. Prior to that, a Houston resident claimed a $3 million prize for the June 16 drawing and a Corpus Christi resident claimed a $1 million prize for the drawing held on May 9.
Despite the game’s long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, players continue to purchase tickets as the size of the grand prize grows. Tickets are sold in Texas until 9 p.m. on the day of the drawing, about 1 hour and 12 minutes before the draw takes place.
The last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was April 18.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
