How the Mega Millions Jackpot is Calculated
The Mega Millions ® jackpot reaching $740 million may have you wondering, how exactly is the prize amount determined?
The number displayed when you go and purchase your Mega Millions tickets is an estimate, and is based on a number of factors.
The Mega Millions jackpot starts at $20 million. Each time a drawing happens without anyone winning the prize, the prize rolls over and combines with the proceeds of the next drawing. This process keeps repeating until someone wins the jackpot!
A Mega Millions ticket costs $2. From that $2, approximately 60% of the ticket sale proceeds will go to winners, and the remaining goes towards the various causes that the lottery funds.
Did you know when Mega Millions jackpots get above a certain threshold the prize amount is constantly reevaluated? You may be in for a pleasant surprise when the jackpot turns out to be larger than advertised!
This is due to the fact that almost 70% of ticket sales for Mega Millions drawings come on the day of the drawing. Since the cutoff to purchase tickets for a drawing is usually only an hour before the numbers are picked, Mega Millions is only able to provide an estimate of what the prize will be. If more tickets are sold than expected, the prize amount will end up being even more than what was displayed!
You might also be wondering how much you would actually take home if you won the jackpot. The $740 million prize is based on 30 annual payments. With a $740 million jackpot, that is approximately 30 payments of $24,666,667. After federal and other taxes you can expect to take home about $16 million each year.
If you were to take the lump sum cash payment, your prize would be $371,600,000. After federal and other taxes you can expect to take home about $234,149,812.
You can order Mega Millions, Powerball ® and more on Lotto.com using your browser or by downloading the app available on the App Store and Google Play Store.
