Mega Millions jackpot after taxes$403 million for Friday, October 16
The Friday, October 16 jackpot is $403 million, or $162.1 million as a one-time cash payment. Here's what a winner keeps after federal and state income tax, in every state that sells Mega Millions. Choose your state for your own figures.
Cash, all at once
| Prize | $162,100,000 |
|---|---|
| Federal tax | −$59,927,000 |
| You keep | $102,173,000 |
When it's paid, 24% goes straight to the IRS, so you'd receive $123,196,000 and owe about $21,023,000 more at tax time.
Annuity: 30 payments over 29 years
| Prize | $403,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Federal tax | −$147,610,000 |
| You keep | $255,390,000 |
The first payment is $6,066,000 ($3,871,000 after tax), and each one is 5% bigger than the last, up to $24,967,000 ($15,779,000 after tax).
An estimate for one winning ticket in Mega Millions, taxed as your only income, at 2026 rates. It isn't tax advice: a winner should talk to a tax adviser before claiming.
The $403 million jackpot in every state
For one winning ticket, single, with no city or county tax. Federal tax alone takes $59,927,000 of the $162.1 million cash, leaving $102,173,000. California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming don't tax lottery prizes, so that's what a winner keeps there. A winner keeps the least in New York, $17,669,000 less, and less again in a city or county with its own tax.
| State | State tax on the prize | Cash, after tax | Annuity, after tax (all 30 payments) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 2.5% | $98,120,000 | $245,315,000 |
| Arkansas | 3.7% | $96,175,000 | $240,479,000 |
| California | none | $102,173,000 | $255,390,000 |
| Colorado | 4.4% | $95,041,000 | $237,658,000 |
| Connecticut | 6.99% | $90,842,000 | $227,220,000 |
| Delaware | 6.6% | $91,474,000 | $228,792,000 |
| District of Columbia | 10.75% | $84,762,000 | $212,499,000 |
| Florida | none | $102,173,000 | $255,390,000 |
| Georgia | 4.99% | $94,084,000 | $235,280,000 |
| Idaho | 5.3% | $93,582,000 | $234,031,000 |
| Illinois | 4.95% | $94,149,000 | $235,441,000 |
| Indiana | 2.95% | $97,391,000 | $243,501,000 |
| Iowa | 3.8% | $96,013,000 | $240,076,000 |
| Kansas | 5.58% | $93,128,000 | $232,903,000 |
| Kentucky | 3.5% | $96,499,000 | $241,285,000 |
| Louisiana | 3% | $97,310,000 | $243,300,000 |
| Maine | 9.15% | $87,361,000 | $219,131,000 |
| Maryland | 6.5% | $91,642,000 | $229,364,000 |
| Massachusetts | 9% | $87,628,000 | $220,449,000 |
| Michigan | 4.25% | $95,284,000 | $238,262,000 |
| Minnesota | 9.85% | $86,206,000 | $215,694,000 |
| Mississippi | 4% | $95,689,000 | $239,270,000 |
| Missouri | 4.7% | $94,554,000 | $236,449,000 |
| Montana | 5.65% | $93,014,000 | $232,620,000 |
| Nebraska | 4.55% | $94,797,000 | $237,053,000 |
| New Hampshire | none | $102,173,000 | $255,390,000 |
| New Jersey | 10.75% | $84,780,000 | $213,055,000 |
| New Mexico | 5.9% | $92,609,000 | $231,613,000 |
| New York | 10.9% | $84,504,000 | $213,881,000 |
| North Carolina | 3.99% | $95,705,000 | $239,310,000 |
| North Dakota | 2.5% | $98,120,000 | $245,315,000 |
| Ohio | 2.75% | $97,715,000 | $244,307,000 |
| Oklahoma | 4.5% | $94,878,000 | $237,255,000 |
| Oregon | 9.9% | $86,125,000 | $215,493,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 3.07% | $97,197,000 | $243,018,000 |
| Rhode Island | 5.99% | $92,463,000 | $231,250,000 |
| South Carolina | 5.21% | $93,728,000 | $234,394,000 |
| South Dakota | none | $102,173,000 | $255,390,000 |
| Tennessee | none | $102,173,000 | $255,390,000 |
| Texas | none | $102,173,000 | $255,390,000 |
| Vermont | 8.75% | $87,989,000 | $220,127,000 |
| Virginia | 5.75% | $92,852,000 | $232,217,000 |
| Washington | none | $102,173,000 | $255,390,000 |
| West Virginia | 4.58% | $94,749,000 | $236,933,000 |
| Wisconsin | 7.65% | $89,772,000 | $224,560,000 |
| Wyoming | none | $102,173,000 | $255,390,000 |
How it's worked out
Federal tax. A jackpot is taxed as ordinary income in the year it's paid. At 2026 rates, everything above $640,600 ($768,700 for a married couple filing jointly) is taxed at 37%, so almost all of a jackpot is. When the prize is paid, 24% is withheld for the IRS; the rest is due with the tax return.
State and local tax. Most states tax lottery prizes as income, at their top rate for a prize this size, and some withhold part of it when the prize is paid. A few cities and counties add their own tax, such as New York City's. If you buy the ticket in one state and live in another, both may tax it; your home state usually gives a credit for the other's tax.
Cash or annuity. The advertised jackpot is the total of 30 yearly payments, each 5% bigger than the one before: for $403 million, from $6,066,000 to $24,967,000. The cash option is the money in the jackpot fund now, $162.1 million. Each annuity payment is taxed in the year it arrives, at that year's rates; this page uses 2026 rates for every year.
Shared jackpots. When more than one ticket matches every number, the jackpot is split equally between them, cash or annuity. Each winner is taxed on their own share.
These are estimates for a winner with no other income and the standard deduction, not tax advice. Federal brackets are from the IRS; state rates are from each state's tax department or lottery, checked on 2026-10-11.
Before you buy a ticket
Each $5 line has a 1 in 290,472,336 chance of the jackpot. Below the jackpot, a line wins back about $1.12 on average. Buying more lines raises your chance only in proportion: 100 lines give 100 chances in 290,472,336.
A wheel doesn't change those odds either. What it does is make sure that if enough of your numbers are drawn, at least one ticket catches them. Free Mega Millions wheels · Mega Millions results