Mega Millions Jackpot Hits $672 Million, but Taxes Claim Nearly Half

The Mega Millions jackpot climbed to $672 million after Tuesday night’s drawing produced no winner, the tenth largest prize in the game’s history. Friday night is the next chance, and whoever finally matches all six numbers will keep far less than that headline figure once taxes take their cut.

A separate wager is playing out away from convenience store ticket counters. Prediction market traders on Polymarket and Kalshi are now betting real money on whether Friday’s drawing produces a winner at all, without buying a single number.

The Jackpot Rolls to $672 Million

Tuesday’s numbers were 2, 4, 10, 48 and 56, with a gold Mega Ball of 22. Nobody matched all six, so the prize rolled over again, the way it has every drawing since a winner last claimed it in March.

The prize now stands at $672 million for a winner who takes the 30 year annuity, or $293.3 million in a single lump sum cash payment, before any taxes are withheld. That total ranks as the 10th largest jackpot in Mega Millions history.

The Tax Bite That Cuts the Prize Nearly in Half

Cash is the preferred option for most winners, trading three decades of annual checks for money in hand today. The shrinkage that follows will look familiar to anyone who has compared how take home pay shifts across major U.S. cities; taxes eat a different share depending on where the ticket was bought, and here they eat fast.

A mandatory 24% federal withholding applies the moment a prize is claimed. On the $293.3 million cash option, that alone drops the total to about $222.9 million. Add a winner’s likely spot in the top federal bracket, and a 37% marginal rate can cut deeper still.

Cash or Annuity, Dollar by Dollar

The two payout paths land in very different places once the top federal rate applies.

Either way, federal tax alone can take more than a third of the money. The cash prize falls to about $184.8 million after the top rate, roughly 27% of the $672 million figure splashed across headlines.

Where You Live Still Decides How Much You Keep

State tax rules swing the final number by tens of millions of dollars depending on where the winning ticket was sold.

• New York – taxes lottery winnings at 10.9%, the highest state rate in the country
• Texas – has no state income tax, so winnings go untouched at the state level
• Florida – also has no state income tax on lottery prizes
• California – exempts lottery winnings from state income tax

A New York winner and a Texas winner holding identical tickets could end up tens of millions of dollars apart once state returns are filed.

Traders Are Betting Without Buying a Ticket

Away from the ticket counter, a newer crowd has found its own way into the action. Prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi have listed contracts letting traders wager on whether Friday’s drawing produces a winner, according to crypto markets outlet Yellow.com.

The contracts do not require picking numbers or buying anything from a retailer. A trader simply takes a position on the binary outcome, jackpot claimed or jackpot rolls again, and the position settles once Friday night’s numbers are drawn.

Similar contracts have shown up around previous nine figure jackpots. A prize this size is simply large enough to pull fresh attention to the practice, turning a ticket counter gamble into a market anyone can enter without buying a number.

The Odds Nobody Beats

The odds explain why the jackpot keeps climbing. Mega Millions draws five numbers from a pool of 1 to 70, plus one gold Mega Ball from 1 to 24, a format that leaves a jackpot winner facing jackpot odds of 1 in 290,472,336.

Smaller prizes come around far more often, though still rarely.

• 1 in 290,472,336: odds of matching all six numbers for the jackpot
• 1 in 23: overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize
• 1 in 12,629,232: odds of the second tier prize, five numbers without the Mega Ball
• Twice a week: Mega Millions drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday night

Long odds are the tradeoff for a prize this size, and they are only slightly worse than Powerball’s, the other lottery currently running hot.

How Did the Jackpot Grow to $672 Million?

The jackpot has been rolling since a player in Illinois won a $533 million prize in March, the reset that sent the top prize back down to its $50 million starting point. Without a repeat winner since, it has climbed drawing by drawing, passing $637 million earlier this week before jumping to $672 million on Tuesday night.

It is already the biggest lottery prize on offer in 2026. The only bigger one claimed so far this year was that same $533 million Illinois jackpot from March; no other U.S. lottery prize has topped $500 million since, including Powerball, whose jackpot has climbed to $498 million ahead of Wednesday night’s drawing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does a Mega Millions Ticket Cost?

A single play costs $5 and covers one set of six numbers. Players can add the Multiplier option, a random 2X to 10X boost drawn at the time of purchase that multiplies non-jackpot prizes, though it does not apply to the jackpot itself.

What Is the Largest Mega Millions Jackpot Ever Won?

The record is a $1.602 billion jackpot won in August 2023, when a single ticket sold in Neptune Beach, Florida, matched all six numbers. That winner chose the cash option, worth $794.2 million before taxes.

Why Is the Cash Option So Much Smaller Than the Advertised Jackpot?

The advertised $672 million assumes the prize is paid out over 30 annual installments. The cash option, $293.3 million this cycle, is what the lottery actually has on hand right now, close to what it would cost to buy the bonds that fund those payments, according to Mega Millions’ own explainer on the difference between cash value and annuity.

When Is the Next Mega Millions Drawing?

The next drawing is Friday night at 11 p.m. ET. Ticket sales generally cut off around 10:45 p.m. ET on drawing nights, though exact cutoff times vary slightly by state.

Has Any Other Jackpot Topped $500 Million in 2026?

Only one: the $533 million Mega Millions prize an Illinois ticket holder claimed in March. Friday’s drawing is just the second chance this year for a jackpot that size to change hands.