Lottery Payment Calculator

The headline number, which is the sum of all 30 annuity payments.
Printed alongside the jackpot. Leave at zero to have it estimated by discounting the annuity at the rate below.
Only used when no published cash value is entered. Lotteries fund the annuity with Treasury securities, so this stands in for their yield.
Powerball and Mega Millions both graduate the annuity by 5% a year.
IRC 3402(q) withholding on lottery proceeds over $5,000.
Used to estimate the tax actually owed, which is more than the amount withheld.
Zero in states that do not tax lottery winnings.
First annuity payment (gross)
1,505,143.51 USD
Lottery Payout Calculator
Final annuity payment (gross)
6,195,374.77 USD
Total of all annuity payments
100,000,000.00 USD
Annuity total after tax
76,000,000.00 USD
First payment after withholding and state tax
1,143,909.07 USD
Cash option (gross)
48,431,551.08 USD
Federal withholding on the cash option
11,623,572.26 USD
State and local tax on the cash option
0.00 USD
Cash option after withholding and state tax
36,807,978.82 USD
Cash option after tax at the top federal rate
30,511,877.18 USD
Cash option as a share of the advertised jackpot
48.4316 %
Worked out from Powerball - Prize Chart and 2 other sources.
The 24% federal withholding is not the final tax. A jackpot pushes the winner into the top bracket, so the balance is due with the return.
State treatment varies: some states tax lottery prizes at their ordinary rate, some withhold at a separate lottery rate, and several do not tax them at all.
Tax figures here are an estimate, not advice. The 24% federal withholding is not the final bill, state treatment of lottery prizes varies widely, and a jackpot winner’s actual liability depends on their whole return. Speak to a tax professional before choosing a payout option.

How this is worked out

5 steps
  1. Payments grow 5% a year, so 30 of them sum to 66.4388475 times the first.
  2. First payment = 100000000 / that factor = 1505143.51
  3. Final payment = 1505143.51 x (1 + 0.05)^29 = 6195374.77
  4. No cash value given, so the schedule is discounted at 4.5%: 48431551.08
  5. Federal withholding at 24% and state/local at 0% leaves 36807978.82 of the cash option.
Payment scheduletable
yeargrossfederalWithheldstateTaxnet
11,505,143.51361,234.4401,143,909.07
21,580,400.68379,296.1601,201,104.52
31,659,420.72398,260.9701,261,159.75
41,742,391.75418,174.0201,324,217.73
51,829,511.34439,082.7201,390,428.62
61,920,986.91461,036.8601,459,950.05
72,017,036.25484,088.701,532,947.55
82,117,888.07508,293.1401,609,594.93
92,223,782.47533,707.7901,690,074.68
102,334,971.59560,393.1801,774,578.41
112,451,720.17588,412.8401,863,307.33
122,574,306.18617,833.4801,956,472.7
132,703,021.49648,725.1602,054,296.33
142,838,172.56681,161.4202,157,011.15
152,980,081.19715,219.4902,264,861.71
163,129,085.25750,980.4602,378,104.79
173,285,539.52788,529.4802,497,010.03
183,449,816.49827,955.9602,621,860.53
193,622,307.32869,353.7602,752,953.56
203,803,422.68912,821.4402,890,601.24
213,993,593.82958,462.5203,035,131.3
224,193,273.511,006,385.6403,186,887.86
234,402,937.181,056,704.9203,346,232.26
244,623,084.041,109,540.1703,513,543.87
254,854,238.241,165,017.1803,689,221.06
265,096,950.161,223,268.0403,873,682.12
275,351,797.661,284,431.4404,067,366.22
285,619,387.551,348,653.0104,270,734.54
295,900,356.921,416,085.6604,484,271.26
306,195,374.771,486,889.9404,708,484.82

Results are general information, not financial, tax, legal, medical or engineering advice.