Jackpot!
One lucky California Lottery player won the billion-dollar Powerball jackpot on Wednesday night. The winning ticket was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market located at 1205 Wall Street in downtown L.A. near the Skid Row neighborhood.
The unidentified person was confirmed to be the sole winner of the jackpot since only one ticket was sold with all the winning numbers, lottery officials announced on Twitter.
Now that they won, how much of the jackpot actually goes to the winner?
After winning a lottery prize, winners can take a lump cash sum or get annuity payments for 30 years.
The California Lottery is required by law to withhold federal taxes, which can vary based on the winner’s resident status. At the very least, the lottery office is required to withhold 24% of the prize money for federal taxes, according to the California Lottery Winner’s Handbook.
While there are no state or local tax withholdings on lottery prize money in California, winners may still be responsible for paying any state and local personal income taxes, which will be based on one’s overall annual income and tax liability, the handbook stated.
In total, about 37% of the prize money will be taken out due to taxes, according to USAMega.com.
If the newest California Lottery winner decides to take the lump cash sum option, they will get $351,640,045.
However, if they chose to get the annual payments, they would be paid $22,712,845 for the next 30 years, equivalent to a $630,634,740 payout, according to the lottery finance website.
The default payout method for Powerball, Mega Millions and Super Lotto Plus drawings is the annual payments, according to the winner’s handbook.
Regardless of the path the winner chooses, they will be coming into a massive amount of wealth. To help manage it all, lottery officials advise winners to seek professional legal and financial assistance.
The California Lottery Winner’s handbook helps winners navigate their sudden influx of wealth.
Jackpot winners have up to a year to claim the prize money, according to lottery officials.
