Topline
The Mega Millions jackpot rose to $900 million after no winners were called in Friday’s drawing, nearing the $1 billion mark and making it the eighth-highest jackpot on record.
Florida Mega Millions logo is seen in Key West, United States on May 7, 2024. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
The six tickets drawn Friday night were 16, 21, 23, 48, 70 and gold Mega Ball 5.
If a winner emerges in the next draw, they will have a choice between taking the $900 million prize spread over 30 annual installments or a lump sum cash payout of $415.3 billion—the preferred option for most winners.
If the winner picks the cash prize, their winnings will first drop to around $315.6 million after a mandatory federal withholding of 24% is applied.
The winner would likely face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, depending on their taxable income, further reducing the winnings to around $261.7 million.
If the installment route is chosen, the winner’s annual payments of around $30 million would fall to $18.9 million after the 37% federal marginal rate and 24% federal withholding is applied.
Depending on their home state, the winner could face additional taxes as some states, such as New York, tax lottery winnings at 10.9%, while others, such as Texas, Florida and California, don’t.
Big Number
1 in 290,472,336. Those are the astronomical odds a Mega Millions ticket buyer will need to overcome to win the jackpot, a slight improvement on the competition’s previous odds of 1 in 302.5 million. Earlier this year, Mega Millions implemented major changes that also enhanced the odds of winning both the jackpot and smaller prizes.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/11/08/mega-millions-jackpot-rises-to-900-million-heres-how-much-the-winner-could-take-home-after-taxes/
