Mega Millions · Alabama · 5% state tax · tickets not sold in state
Mega Millions after taxes in Alabama: payout calculator
The current Mega Millions jackpot is $345 million, with a cash value of $139.6 million. An Alabama resident who won on a ticket bought in another state would keep about $81 million as a lump sum after the 37% federal rate and Alabama’s 5% — or $200.1 million spread over 30 annuity payments.
Jackpot estimate as of October 4, 2026. These figures refresh automatically when a new jackpot is announced.
Calculate any Mega Millions jackpot in Alabama
Change the jackpot and the cash value follows at today’s ratio of 40%; you can also type the cash value yourself.
| Your win | Lump sum | Annuity (30 payments) |
|---|---|---|
| Before taxes | $139,600,000 | $345,000,000 |
| Federal tax (37%) | −$51,652,000 | −$127,650,000 |
| Alabama tax (5%) | −$6,980,000 | −$17,250,000 |
| You keep | $80,968,000 | $200,100,000 |
Lump sum: what an Alabama winner keeps
Take the cash option and you get the jackpot’s cash value — currently 40% of the advertised amount — in one payment. Federal tax takes 37%: the lottery withholds 24% when you claim, and the rest is due when you file. As an Alabama resident you also owe Alabama’s 5%, with a credit for any tax the state that sold the ticket charges.
| Lump sum | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cash value | $139,600,000 |
| Federal income tax (37%) | −$51,652,000 |
| Alabama state tax (5%) | −$6,980,000 |
| You keep | $80,968,000 |
Annuity: 30 payments over 29 years
The annuity pays the full advertised jackpot: one payment when you claim and 29 more once a year, each 5% bigger than the last. Each payment is taxed in the year you receive it, so an Alabama winner keeps about 58% of every check.
| Annuity | Before taxes | After taxes |
|---|---|---|
| Payment 1 (at claim) | $5,192,745 | $3,011,792 |
| Payment 10 | $8,055,652 | $4,672,278 |
| Payment 20 | $13,121,808 | $7,610,649 |
| Payment 30 (final) | $21,374,043 | $12,396,945 |
| All 30 payments | $345,000,000 | $200,100,000 |
See all 30 payments
| # | When | Before taxes | After taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | At claim | $5,192,745 | $3,011,792 |
| 2 | Year 2 | $5,452,382 | $3,162,382 |
| 3 | Year 3 | $5,725,001 | $3,320,501 |
| 4 | Year 4 | $6,011,252 | $3,486,526 |
| 5 | Year 5 | $6,311,814 | $3,660,852 |
| 6 | Year 6 | $6,627,405 | $3,843,895 |
| 7 | Year 7 | $6,958,775 | $4,036,090 |
| 8 | Year 8 | $7,306,714 | $4,237,894 |
| 9 | Year 9 | $7,672,050 | $4,449,789 |
| 10 | Year 10 | $8,055,652 | $4,672,278 |
| 11 | Year 11 | $8,458,435 | $4,905,892 |
| 12 | Year 12 | $8,881,356 | $5,151,187 |
| 13 | Year 13 | $9,325,424 | $5,408,746 |
| 14 | Year 14 | $9,791,695 | $5,679,183 |
| 15 | Year 15 | $10,281,280 | $5,963,142 |
| 16 | Year 16 | $10,795,344 | $6,261,300 |
| 17 | Year 17 | $11,335,111 | $6,574,365 |
| 18 | Year 18 | $11,901,867 | $6,903,083 |
| 19 | Year 19 | $12,496,960 | $7,248,237 |
| 20 | Year 20 | $13,121,808 | $7,610,649 |
| 21 | Year 21 | $13,777,899 | $7,991,181 |
| 22 | Year 22 | $14,466,794 | $8,390,740 |
| 23 | Year 23 | $15,190,133 | $8,810,277 |
| 24 | Year 24 | $15,949,640 | $9,250,791 |
| 25 | Year 25 | $16,747,122 | $9,713,331 |
| 26 | Year 26 | $17,584,478 | $10,198,997 |
| 27 | Year 27 | $18,463,702 | $10,708,947 |
| 28 | Year 28 | $19,386,887 | $11,244,394 |
| 29 | Year 29 | $20,356,231 | $11,806,614 |
| 30 | Year 30 | $21,374,043 | $12,396,945 |
How Alabama taxes lottery winnings
Alabama doesn’t sell Mega Millions or Powerball, so Alabamians buy tickets in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee or Mississippi. Alabama taxes residents’ lottery winnings at up to 5% no matter where the ticket was bought. If the state that sold the ticket taxes it too, Alabama generally gives you a credit for that tax, so you pay roughly the higher of the two rates; buy in Florida or Tennessee, which don’t tax winnings, and Alabama’s 5% is the whole state bill.
Alabama is one of five states without either game: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah. The figures on this page use Alabama’s own rate of 5%, which is what a resident owes when the selling state doesn’t tax the prize or taxes it at a lower rate.
Alabama vs. neighboring states
What the current Mega Millions jackpot’s lump sum is worth after taxes in Alabama and next door. You can’t buy tickets in Alabama, so every ticket is an out-of-state ticket: Alabama’s 5% applies either way, with a credit for any tax the selling state charges.
| State | Tax on the win | Lump sum after taxes |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama † | 5% | $81 million |
| Florida | 0% | $87.9 million |
| Georgia | 5.19% | $80.7 million |
| Mississippi | 4% | $82.4 million |
| Tennessee | 0% | $87.9 million |
† Doesn’t sell Powerball or Mega Millions; the rate is what a resident owes on a prize won elsewhere.
Mega Millions taxes in Alabama: common questions
How much would an Alabama winner keep from a Mega Millions jackpot?
About 58% of the cash value. Federal tax takes 37% and Alabama takes 5%, so an Alabama winner keeps about $58 million of every $100 million in cash. With the annuity, the same 58% applies to the full advertised jackpot, paid over 30 years.
Does Alabama tax lottery winnings?
Yes. Alabama doesn’t sell lottery tickets, but it taxes residents’ winnings from tickets bought elsewhere at up to 5%, with a credit for tax paid to the state that sold the ticket.
Should an Alabama winner take the lump sum or the annuity?
It depends on what you’d do with the money. The lump sum pays the cash value now — recently around 40–45% of the advertised jackpot — and you keep about 58% of it after taxes in Alabama. The annuity pays the whole advertised jackpot over 29 years in 30 payments, each 5% larger than the last, taxed as you receive them. Take the cash if you’d invest it at least as well as long-term Treasury bonds pay; take the annuity if you want protection from spending it too fast.
How much tax is withheld when you claim a Mega Millions prize?
The lottery withholds 24% for federal tax on any prize over $5,000. A jackpot puts you in the 37% bracket, so you’ll owe roughly another 13% when you file. State withholding follows the rules of the state where you bought the ticket.
Can you buy Mega Millions tickets in Alabama?
No. Alabama is one of five states — Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah — that don’t sell Powerball or Mega Millions. You’d need to buy a ticket while you’re in a state that sells them. Mega Millions draws every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern. A ticket costs $5 — every play includes a built-in 2X to 10X multiplier on the non-jackpot prizes — and the odds of hitting the jackpot are 1 in 290,472,336.
Play it out
Numbers are the start, not the story. Play Mega Millions with the official odds and see how long a jackpot really takes — then take your after-tax Alabama figure into the planner and give every dollar a job: Treasuries, index funds, real estate, the house, the cars, family and giving, with a 30-year projection that shows whether the money lasts.