What we calculate
For any prize, the calculator estimates two things: what the lottery withholds when you claim, and the tax you would finally owe for the year. They are different, and confusing them is the most common mistake in lottery tax estimates. The rules themselves are explained in plain language in taxes on lottery winnings.
Withholding when you claim
Federal: 24% of the winnings minus the ticket price, when that amount is over $5,000 (IRS Instructions for Form W-2G). State: the rate each state lottery or tax agency publishes, applied to the same base, from the prize level each state sets — most follow the federal $5,000, while Iowa, Missouri and Oregon start lower. When several people share one ticket, whether a prize crosses these levels depends on the whole ticket's prize, not each person's share, as the IRS instructions require; New Jersey's $10,000 exemption works the same way. Where we could not confirm a state's rate on an official page, we say so instead of guessing.
Tax you finally owe
Federal tax is figured with the 2026 brackets and standard deduction for your filing status (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32). We treat the prize as extra income on top of any other income you enter: tax on (other income + prize) minus tax on other income alone. State tax uses the same approach with each state's 2026 brackets. New York City uses the city rate schedule; Yonkers adds 16.75% of New York State tax.
Annuity
Both Powerball and Mega Millions pay 30 payments over 29 years, each 5% larger than the last (Powerball, Mega Millions). The first payment is the jackpot × 0.05 ÷ (1.0530 − 1). Each payment is taxed as income in its own year. “Today's money” discounts each after-tax payment at the rate you choose (4% by default).
Break-even return
The annuity results also show a break-even return: the yearly rate at which the after-tax annuity payments, discounted to today, equal the after-tax lump sum. It is found numerically and leaves out tax on investment returns.
Gambling winnings
The gambling winnings tax calculator adds a year's winnings to your other income and allows min(winnings, 90% × losses) as an itemized deduction from the 2026 tax year (IRS Publication 505). It uses the larger of the standard deduction and entered itemized deductions, with and without gambling. State tax is estimated on winnings without loss deductions; state deductions, credits and local taxes are excluded. High-income federal itemized-deduction limits, AMT and credits are not modeled. Other itemized deductions should be entered as an already-eligible amount, after any applicable limits.
Lottery odds
Odds come from each game's official prize chart. The expected value of a ticket on the lottery odds page adds up every prize times its probability, counts the jackpot at its cash value and Mega Millions prizes at the average multiplier, and ignores shared jackpots.
The widget's second figure taxes only the jackpot, for a single filer with no other income or state tax; smaller prizes remain before tax. Power Play, California's pari-mutuel prizes and jackpot sharing are excluded. Mega Millions multiplier weights are normalized from the rounded official odds. For distinct combinations in one drawing, the jackpot probability is tickets ÷ total combinations; duplicates do not cover more outcomes.
Lottery pools
The lottery pool calculator divides the whole cash prize into equal shares, then runs your share through the same tax engine as the main calculator using your income, state and filing status. Withholding and prize-based exemptions are tested against the whole ticket. It estimates one member's result; other members can have different tax bills. The agreement template must be adapted to the group's state and claim rules.
Checked against official payouts
Some state lotteries publish exactly how much a winner took home after withholding. We recalculate each one. Every case matches to within $1, or to the rounding of the press release where it gives a rounded figure (marked ≈). Most cases come from North Carolina because the North Carolina Education Lottery reports the take-home amount in its winner announcements; few other states do.
| Where and when | Game | Prize | Official take-home | Our result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NC · 2026-01-22 | Powerball (lump sum of a $209.3 million jackpot) | $95,300,000 | ≈ $68,600,000 | $68,625,531 | press release |
| NC · 2026-03-19 | Powerball | $2,000,000 | $1,440,201 | $1,440,201 | press release |
| NC · 2026-08-18 | Powerball | $1,000,000 | $720,101 | $720,101 | press release |
| NC · 2026-02-25 | Powerball | $1,000,000 | $720,101 | $720,101 | press release |
| NC · 2026-08-14 | Powerball | $1,000,000 | $720,100 | $720,101 | press release |
| NC · 2026-01-12 | Powerball | $150,000 | $108,016 | $108,016 | press release |
| NC · 2026-05-20 | Powerball | $100,000 | $72,011 | $72,011 | press release |
| NC · 2026-06-25 | Powerball | $100,000 | $72,011 | $72,011 | press release |
| NC · 2026-07-27 | Powerball | $100,000 | $72,011 | $72,011 | press release |
| NC · 2026-03-03 | Mega Millions | $100,000 | $72,011 | $72,011 | press release |
| LA · 2017 | Powerball (cash value of a $191.1 million jackpot (2017)) | $119,492,685 | $83,644,879 | $83,644,880 | press release |
These are withholding checks, using the rates in force when each prize was claimed: 24% federal plus North Carolina's 3.99% in 2026; 25% federal plus Louisiana's 5% in 2017. The 2017 case predates the 2018 cut in federal withholding from 25% to 24%.
Sources
- Federal brackets and standard deduction: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the IRS 2026 inflation adjustments
- Federal withholding: IRS Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 (01/2026)
- State brackets: Tax Foundation, 2026 State Income Tax Rates and Brackets, which compiles each state's statutory rates
- State withholding: each state lottery's or tax agency's own page, linked in the lottery tax by state table
- New York City and Yonkers: New York State IT-201 instructions
- Game rules: powerball.com and megamillions.com
- Current jackpots and cash values: the New York Lottery's published estimates for the next drawing, checked automatically every day
Assumptions and limits
- You bought the ticket in the state where you live. Buying in another state can mean tax in both states, usually with a credit.
- State tax ignores state deductions and credits. Head-of-household filers use the single-filer state brackets, because state tables list only single and joint rates.
- County and city income taxes are not included, except New York City, Yonkers and Maryland. Because the calculator does not ask for your county, Maryland uses the average of the 24 county rates (3.06%; the actual rate is 2.25% to 3.3%). Residents of Indiana, Ohio, Detroit and other Michigan cities, and the Portland area of Oregon may owe more.
- The annuity assumes today's tax brackets apply in every future year.
- Lottery estimates use the standard deduction. The separate gambling calculator considers entered itemized deductions, but excludes high-income deduction limits. Both exclude credits, alternative minimum tax and net investment income tax.
- State brackets come from a reputable compilation rather than each state's own tables; we are replacing them with primary sources state by state.
- Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not covered.
Corrections and changes
Found a number that does not match an official source? Use “Report an error” under any result or email hello@jackpotcalculator.com with a link to the source. We check every report and record changes here.
- October 2, 2026 — Added the gambling winnings tax calculator with the 2026 90% limit on losses and the new $2,000 Form W-2G threshold; a lottery odds and expected value page; a guide to what to do if you win, with 46 official state-law and lottery sources for anonymity; a lottery pool agreement template and share calculator; and a break-even return in the annuity results.
- October 2, 2026 — Corrections after an audit: added New Jersey's 10.75% bracket for joint filers over $1 million, which was missing; shared tickets now test the federal $5,000 withholding level and New Jersey's $10,000 exemption against the whole ticket's prize; Iowa, Missouri, Oregon and Louisiana now use their own state withholding levels; Maryland now includes an average county tax.
- October 1, 2026 — First version: 2026 federal and state rates; withholding checked for 33 jurisdictions; 11 official payouts reconciled. Added the largest jackpots list (amounts from official Powerball and Mega Millions sources) and a daily record of upcoming jackpots.