The jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing has jumped to $1.8 billion, the second largest grand prize in U.S. lottery history.
The nearly $2 billion jackpot is for a single-winning ticket who choose an annuity option, paid over 30 years. Winners almost always opt for cash prizes, which would be $826.4 billion — before taxes.
However, the windfall would significantly shrink after taxes.
Federal taxes on lottery winnings
The prize is subject to an automatic federal withholding, with the IRS levying 24% on winnings of more than $5,000.
If you choose the $826.4 billion cash option, the 24% withholding automatically reduces your prize to about $628 million, with $198.36 million going straight to Uncle Sam. Millions, if not billions, are up grabs once a winning lotto ticket goes unclai