The Powerball jackpot rose to $681 million — the third-largest lottery prize of 2025 so far — after no tickets matched the six numbers drawn Monday night, although the eventual winner will take home a much smaller payout after taxes and deductions.
Key Facts
The six numbers drawn Monday night were 8, 16, 26, 30, 58 and Powerball Red 14.
If a winner appears in the next drawing, they will have the choice between receiving the $681 million divided into 30 annual payments or a one-time cash payment of $315.7 million — the option preferred by most winners.
If the lump sum option is chosen, profits will first fall to around $240 million after applying a mandatory 24% federal withholding.
The winner would likely face a marginal federal tax rate of up to 37%, depending on their taxable income, further reducing profits to about $199 million.
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If the annual payment option is chosen, the $22.7 million payments would be reduced to $14.3 million after applying the 37% federal marginal tax rate.
Depending on their state of residence, 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, do not.
Big Number
One in 292.2 million. Those are the astronomical odds a Powerball ticket buyer must overcome to win the jackpot. This is even worse than the already low Mega Millions jackpot odds of 1 in 290.4 million.
What To Watch For
The next Powerball jackpot drawing is scheduled for Wednesday night.
Key Background
The biggest jackpot of the year so far was a $1.78 billion Powerball prize split between two ticket buyers, one from Missouri and one from Texas, in September. This was also the second largest jackpot in Powerball history. Earlier this month, a single ticket sold in Georgia won the $980 million Mega Millions jackpot. Even though September’s Powerball prize was nearly twice as large, this month’s Mega Millions winner will likely take home a larger payout since the amount won’t have to be split between two people.
This article was originally published on Forbes US
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