Mega Millions · California · no state tax on the win
Mega Millions after taxes in California: payout calculator
The current Mega Millions jackpot is $345 million, with a cash value of $139.6 million. A California winner would keep about $87.9 million as a lump sum after the 37% federal rate — California doesn’t tax lottery prizes — or $217.3 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 California
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 |
| California tax (0%) | $0 | $0 |
| You keep | $87,948,000 | $217,350,000 |
Lump sum: what a California 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. California takes nothing on a ticket bought in California.
| Lump sum | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cash value | $139,600,000 |
| Federal income tax (37%) | −$51,652,000 |
| California state tax (0%) | $0 |
| You keep | $87,948,000 |
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 a California winner keeps 63% of every check.
| Annuity | Before taxes | After taxes |
|---|---|---|
| Payment 1 (at claim) | $5,192,745 | $3,271,429 |
| Payment 10 | $8,055,652 | $5,075,061 |
| Payment 20 | $13,121,808 | $8,266,739 |
| Payment 30 (final) | $21,374,043 | $13,465,647 |
| All 30 payments | $345,000,000 | $217,350,000 |
See all 30 payments
| # | When | Before taxes | After taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | At claim | $5,192,745 | $3,271,429 |
| 2 | Year 2 | $5,452,382 | $3,435,001 |
| 3 | Year 3 | $5,725,001 | $3,606,751 |
| 4 | Year 4 | $6,011,252 | $3,787,088 |
| 5 | Year 5 | $6,311,814 | $3,976,443 |
| 6 | Year 6 | $6,627,405 | $4,175,265 |
| 7 | Year 7 | $6,958,775 | $4,384,028 |
| 8 | Year 8 | $7,306,714 | $4,603,230 |
| 9 | Year 9 | $7,672,050 | $4,833,391 |
| 10 | Year 10 | $8,055,652 | $5,075,061 |
| 11 | Year 11 | $8,458,435 | $5,328,814 |
| 12 | Year 12 | $8,881,356 | $5,595,254 |
| 13 | Year 13 | $9,325,424 | $5,875,017 |
| 14 | Year 14 | $9,791,695 | $6,168,768 |
| 15 | Year 15 | $10,281,280 | $6,477,206 |
| 16 | Year 16 | $10,795,344 | $6,801,067 |
| 17 | Year 17 | $11,335,111 | $7,141,120 |
| 18 | Year 18 | $11,901,867 | $7,498,176 |
| 19 | Year 19 | $12,496,960 | $7,873,085 |
| 20 | Year 20 | $13,121,808 | $8,266,739 |
| 21 | Year 21 | $13,777,899 | $8,680,076 |
| 22 | Year 22 | $14,466,794 | $9,114,080 |
| 23 | Year 23 | $15,190,133 | $9,569,784 |
| 24 | Year 24 | $15,949,640 | $10,048,273 |
| 25 | Year 25 | $16,747,122 | $10,550,687 |
| 26 | Year 26 | $17,584,478 | $11,078,221 |
| 27 | Year 27 | $18,463,702 | $11,632,132 |
| 28 | Year 28 | $19,386,887 | $12,213,739 |
| 29 | Year 29 | $20,356,231 | $12,824,426 |
| 30 | Year 30 | $21,374,043 | $13,465,647 |
How California taxes lottery winnings
California doesn’t tax California Lottery prizes, so a California winner pays only the 37% federal tax on a Mega Millions jackpot bought in the state — about 63% of the cash value stays with you.
There are two catches. California taxes the investment income your winnings earn afterward — interest, dividends and rents — at up to 13.3%, the highest top rate in the country. And the exemption only covers tickets bought in California: win on a ticket bought in another state and California taxes the prize like ordinary income.
California is one of eight states that sell tickets and don’t tax the win: California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
California vs. neighboring states
What the current Mega Millions jackpot’s lump sum is worth after taxes in California and next door. Where you buy matters more in California than anywhere: the exemption covers only California Lottery tickets, so a Californian who wins on a ticket bought in Arizona or Oregon owes California tax on it, at up to 13.3%.
| State | Tax on the win | Lump sum after taxes |
|---|---|---|
| California | 0% | $87.9 million |
| Arizona | 2.5% | $84.5 million |
| Nevada † | 0% | $87.9 million |
| Oregon | 9.9% | $74.1 million |
† Doesn’t sell Powerball or Mega Millions; the rate is what a resident owes on a prize won elsewhere.
Mega Millions taxes in California: common questions
How much would a California winner keep from a Mega Millions jackpot?
About 63% of the cash value. Federal tax takes 37% and California takes nothing on a California ticket, so a California winner keeps about $63 million of every $100 million in cash. With the annuity, the same 63% applies to the full advertised jackpot, paid over 30 years.
Does California tax lottery winnings?
No — California doesn’t tax California Lottery prizes. It does tax the investment income your winnings earn afterward, at up to 13.3%, and it taxes winnings from tickets bought in other states.
Should a California 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 63% of it after taxes in California. 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 in California?
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. There’s no state tax to withhold in California.
When is the Mega Millions drawing, and how much is a ticket?
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 California 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.