Topline
The Powerball jackpot grew to $538 million after no winning tickets were sold for Saturday night’s drawing, although a winner will immediately face steep federal taxes and take home a much smaller prize.
Winners can choose between receiving the full jackpot paid out over 30 years, or a smaller cash prize immediately.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Key Facts
No Powerball tickets were sold matching all the numbers from Saturday’s drawing (1, 4, 19, 33, 51, and Powerball number 15), so the lottery’s jackpot is growing again before Monday night’s drawing.
If a winning ticket is sold for Monday, the holder will get the option to receive a $220.6 million cash prize immediately, or the $538 million jackpot through 30 annual payments.
If the winner takes the lump sum, the more popular option, they will immediately face a 24% federal withholding tax, bringing their total prize down to about $167.6 million.
They will then likely face the highest federal income tax bracket, bringing their winnings down further to about $139 million.
If the winner takes the annuity option, they will instead receive $538 million in 30 annual payments that grow by 5% each year—although federal taxes bring this total jackpot down to roughly $338.9 million.
Powerball winnings will also face state taxes, but these can vary by jurisdiction—New York charges the highest state tax at 10.9%, but many states don’t tax lottery winnings at all, including Texas, California, Florida and Alaska.
What to Watch For
The next Powerball drawing will take place on Monday at 10:59 p.m. EDT. These drawings are broadcast live and available to watch on the lottery’s website and YouTube channel.
Big Number
$1.04 billion. That’s the size of the biggest Powerball jackpot of the year so far, which a player in Illinois won in August. Winning the jackpot requires matching the numbers on all five white balls (between 1 and 69), as well as the number on the red Powerball (between 1 and 26). The odds for picking all six numbers are about one in 292.2 million, according to the lottery’s organizers.
Surprising Fact
Although no one won the jackpot Saturday, one lucky player in California did fetch a $1 million prize. To win that secondary prize, players must match the numbers on all five white balls, but miss the number on the red Powerball. Players still face incredibly steep odds of winning—one in 11,688,053.52, according to the lottery.
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