The amount taken home by an eventual winner will drop drastically from the more than one-billion won.
Topline
The Powerball jackpot reached $1.04 billion—the fourth largest in the history of the game and second largest this year—after no tickets aligned with the six numbers drawn on Saturday night, but the prize a potential winner will take home is significantly smaller.Key Facts
If the next draw produces a winning ticket, the winner will have their choice between a $1.04 billion payout over 30 years or a lump sum payment estimated at $478.2 million.
A 24% federal tax withholding is taken right away, dropping the lump sum estimate to about $363.4 million.
Because the federal government counts lottery winnings as income, the winner could be moved into a tax bracket facing a tax rate as high as 37%, which could drop the lump sum to around $301.
