United States
All lottery winnings are subject to Federal taxation (automatically reported to the Internal Revenue Service if the win is at least $600); many smaller jurisdictions also levy taxes. The IRS requires a minimum withholding of 25% of the prize (minus the wager) of any gambling win in excess of $5,000. However, the net for a major prize often is misleading; winners often owe the IRS upon filing a return because the Federal withholding was below the winner’s tax obligations. Nonresident U.S. lottery winners have 30% of winnings of at least $600 withheld.
While the largest lottery prizes in the early history of U.S. state lotteries were «annuity-only», these lotteries gradually introduced a «cash option» for these games.
All prizes listed below are reported as the pre-withholdings amount, as this is taxable income the player must report on their returns to be subject to taxation. Jackpots and jackpot shares listed below are annuity amounts (and the cash value.)
For various reasons, an annuitized jackpot can have a higher cash value than a larger annuity with a lower cash value. Examples include the annuity structure of various games: while Mega Millions’ and Powerball’s annuity option each are 30 annual payments, Mega Millions’ annuity payments increase 5 percent yearly, while Powerball increases 4 percent yearly; this makes the Mega Millions’ annuity structure somewhat more «inflated».
List of U.S. lottery drawings of $300 million or more (annuity value) with at least one jackpot-winning ticket (dollar amounts in millions):
| Rank | Jackpot | Cash value | Tickets | Per ticket | Game | Date | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,586.4 | $983.5 | 3 | $327.8 | Powerball | Jan. 13, 2016 | CA, FL, TN | World’s largest jackpot (cash value & annuity); 9th largest cash value per ticket. |
| 2 | $1,537 | $877.8 | 1 | $877.8 | Mega Millions | Oct. 23, 2018 | SC | Largest jackpot for a single ticket; largest cash value for a single ticket. |
| 3 | $768.4 | $477 | 1 | $477 | Powerball | Mar. 27, 2019 | WI | 3rd largest jackpot for a single ticket. Bought in New Berlin, Wisconsin. |
| 4 | $758.7 | $480.5 | 1 | $480.5 | Powerball | Aug. 23, 2017 | MA | 2nd largest jackpot for a single ticket. |
| 5 | $687.8 | $396.2 | 2 | $198.1 | Powerball | Oct. 27, 2018 | IA, NY | |
| 6 | $656 | $474 | 3 | $158 | Mega Millions | Mar. 30, 2012 | IL, KS, MD | |
| 7 | $648 | $347.6 | 2 | $173.8 | Mega Millions | Dec. 17, 2013 | CA, GA | |
| 8 | $590.5 | $370.9 | 1 | $370.9 | Powerball | May 18, 2013 | FL | |
| 9 | $587.5 | $384.7 | 2 | $192.4 | Powerball | Nov. 28, 2012 | AZ, MO | |
| 10 | $564.1 | $381.1 | 3 | $127.0 | Powerball | Feb. 11, 2015 | NC, PR, TX | |
| 11 | $559.7 | $352 | 1 | $352 | Powerball | Jan. 6, 2018 | NH | |
| 12 | $543 | $320.5 | 1 | $320.5 | Mega Millions | July 24, 2018 | CA | |
| 13 | $536 | $378.3 | 1 | $378.3 | Mega Millions | July 8, 2016 | IN | |
| 14 | $533 | $324.6 | 1 | $324.6 | Mega Millions | Mar. 30, 2018 | NJ | |
| 15 | $530 | $345.2 | 1 | $345.2 | Mega Millions | June 7, 2019 | CA | |
| 16 | $487 | $341.7 | 1 | $341.7 | Powerball | July 30, 2016 | NH | |
| 17 | $456.7 | $269.4 | 1 | $269.4 | Powerball | Mar. 17, 2018 | PA | |
| 18 | $451 | $281.9 | 1 | $281.9 | Mega Millions | Jan. 5, 2018 | FL | |
| 19 | $448.4 | $258.2 | 3 | $86.1 | Powerball | Aug. 7, 2013 | MN; NJ (2) | |
| 20 | $447.8 | $279.1 | 1 | $279.1 | Powerball | Jun. 10, 2017 | CA | |
| 21 | $437 | $261.8 | 1 | $261.8 | Mega Millions | Jan. 1, 2019 | NY | |
| 22 | $435.3 | $263.4 | 1 | $263.4 | Powerball | Feb. 22, 2017 | IN | |
| 23 | $429.6 | $284.1 | 1 | $284.1 | Powerball | May 7, 2016 | NJ | |
| 24 | $425.3 | $242.2 | 1 | $242.2 | Powerball | Feb. 19, 2014 | CA | |
| 25 | $420.9 | $254.6 | 1 | $254.6 | Powerball | Nov 26, 2016 | TN | |
| 26 | $414 | $230.9 | 2 | $115.4 | Mega Millions | Mar. 18, 2014 | FL, MD | |
| 27 | $410 | $316.8 | 1 | $316.8 | Mega Millions | June 09, 2020 | AZ | |
| 28 | $399.4 | $223.3 | 1 | $223.3 | Powerball | Sep. 18, 2013 | SC | |
| 29 | $396.9 | $274.6 | 1 | $274.6 | Powerball | Jan. 29, 2020 | FL | |
| 30 | $393 | $247 | 1 | $247 | Mega Millions | Aug. 11, 2017 | IL | |
| 31 | $390 | $233.1 | 2 | $116.5 | Mega Millions | Mar. 6, 2007 | GA, NJ | |
| 32 | $380 | $240 | 2 | $120 | Mega Millions | Jan. 4, 2011 | ID, WA | |
| 33 | $372 | $251.6 | 1 | $251.6 | Mega Millions | Dec. 17, 2019 | OH | |
| 34 | $365 | $177.3 | 1 | $177.3 | Powerball | Feb. 18, 2006 | NE | |
| 35 | $363 | $180 | 2 | $90 | The Big Game | May 9, 2000 | IL, MI | Largest Big Game jackpot before it became Mega Millions |
| 36 | $344.6 | $223.3 | 1 | $223.3 | Powerball | June 1, 2019 | NC | |
| 37 | $340 | $164.4 | 1 | $164.4 | Powerball | Oct. 19, 2005 | OR | |
| 38 | $338.3 | $211.0 | 1 | $211.0 | Powerball | Mar. 23, 2013 | NJ | |
| 39 | $337 | $224.7 | 1 | $224.7 | Powerball | Aug. 15, 2012 | MI | |
| 40 | $336.4 | $210.0 | 1 | $210.0 | Powerball | Feb. 11, 2012 | RI | |
| 41 | $333 | $214 | 2 | $107 | Mega Millions | Aug. 28, 2009 | CA, NY | |
| 42 | $331 | $174 | 3 | $58 | The Big Game | Apr. 16, 2002 | GA, IL, NJ | |
| 43 | $330 | $194.4 | 4 | $48.6 | Mega Millions | Aug. 31, 2007 | MD,NJ,TX,VA | |
| 44 | $326 | $197.5 | 1 | $197.5 | Mega Millions | Nov. 4, 2014 | NY | |
| 45 | $319 | $202.8 | 1 | $202.8 | Mega Millions | Mar. 25, 2011 | NY | |
| 46 | $315.3 | $183 | 1 | $183 | Powerball | May 19, 2018 | NJ | |
| 47 | $315 | $185 | 1 | $185 | Mega Millions | Nov. 15, 2005 | CA | |
| 48 | $314.9 | $170.5 | 1 | $170.5 | Powerball | Dec. 25, 2002 | WV | Won by Jack Whittaker |
| 49 | $314.3 | $146.0 | 1 | $146.0 | Powerball | Aug. 25, 2007 | IN |
Notes:
MM. ^ ^ The Big Game became The Big Game Mega Millions and then Mega Millions in 2002.
