ATLANTA — The Powerball jackpot is now up to a whopping $635 million for Saturday night’s drawing.
There has not been a Powerball jackpot winner since the $286 million winnings from the June 5 drawing.
The big question on many people’s minds if they were to win: do you take the lump sum or an annuity?
WATCH the Powerball drawing LIVE Saturday night right before WSB Tonight at 11 p.m. on Channel 2.
The lump sum from Saturday’s jackpot is $450 million. The annuity option allows the jackpot to be paid out across 30 years.
The federal government and all but a few state governments will immediately have their hands out for a bit of your prize.
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The top federal tax rate is 37% for income over $500,000. The first thing that happens when you turn in that winning ticket is that the federal government takes 24% of the winnings off the top.
But the payments don’t end there. You will owe the rest of the tax — the difference between 24% and 37% — at tax time next year.
Your winnings could also be subject to local taxes in some states.
The odds of a single ticket winning in Powerball is 1 in 292 million.
The Georgia Lottery says it reports the names of winners of prizes above $600 to the IRS and Georgia Department of Revenue.
Georgia’s state income tax of 5.75% and federal income tax of 24% are withheld from prizes of more than $5,000 at the time the prize is claimed.
Additionally, the GLC is required to check for and deduct any outstanding child support payments for prizes of $2,500 and above and student loans and state taxes for prizes of $5,000 and above, net of the wager or ticket cost.
The largest Powerball jackpot ever was on Jan. 13, 2016, in which three winning tickets were sold: one in Tennessee, one in Florida and one in California.
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