Topline
The Powerball jackpot rose to $565 million—the year’s biggest lottery prize so far—after none of the purchased tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Wednesday night, but the eventual winner is likely to take home a much smaller amount after paying their taxes.
The Powerball jackpot has now risen to become the biggest lottery prize of 2025 so far.
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Key Facts
The six numbers drawn on Wednesday night were 4, 11, 40, 44, 50, and red Powerball 4.
If a winner emerges in the next draw, they can choose between receiving the $565 million spread across 30 annual installments or a one-time lump sum cash payout of $258.8 million, which is usually the more popular choice.
If the lump sum payout is chosen, the winnings will first drop to $196.7 million after a mandatory federal withholding of 24% is applied.
The winner then is likely to face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, depending on their taxable income, further slashing the prize to $163 million.
If the winner picks the installment route, their annual payments of around $18.8 million would drop to $11.8 million if the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
Depending on their state of residence, the winner could face additional taxes as some, such as New York, tax lottery winnings at 10.9%, while others, such as Texas, Florida, and California, don’t.
What To Watch For
The next draw for the Powerball jackpot will happen on Saturday night. A day before that, the Mega Millions lottery will hold a draw for a $198 million jackpot prize.
Surprising Fact
The eventual winner will have to overcome astronomical odds of 1 in 292.2 million to win the Powerball jackpot. This is slightly worse than the Mega Millions jackpot, which has odds of 1-in-290.4 million. The Mega Millions used to have even worse odds than the Powerball lottery, but the competition implemented significant changes earlier this year that slightly improved the odds of winning both the jackpot and smaller prizes.
Key Background
The current Powerball jackpot has now risen to become the biggest lottery prize of the year so far, eclipsing the $526.5 million prize won by a Powerball ticket buyer from California in March. The biggest Mega Millions jackpot of 2025 so far was a $349 million prize won by an Illinois resident in March. Last year’s biggest lottery prize was also a Powerball jackpot—worth $1.326 billion—which was won by an Oregon resident.
Further Reading
Powerball Jackpot Nears $500 Million—Here’s How Much The Winner Could Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)
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