Thanksgiving Eve Powerball jackpot hits $681 million and raises the big question: What would the winner’s actual payout be?

​The Powerball jackpot has grown again, and now it has reached a massive $681 million just before Thanksgiving. This means one lucky person could wake up a multi-millionaire on Thursday morning. The jackpot increased after nobody matched all six numbers in Monday night’s drawing. The winning numbers were 8, 16, 26, 30, 58 and the red Powerball 14.

Even though this jackpot is not the biggest in Powerball history, it is still huge. It is the second-largest jackpot of 2025, coming behind the $1.787 billion prize that two winners split in September.

The winner will not actually get $681 million

The jackpot amount that everyone sees is not the amount the winner takes home. The $681 million is the annuity amount, which is paid over 30 years in yearly payments. After taxes, a winner choosing an annuity would receive only about $430 million in total over the 30 years.

Most winners choose the cash payout, which is currently valued at $315.7 million before taxes. But taxes will reduce this amount even more.

How taxes change the final amount

If someone wins on Wednesday, they will immediately owe 24% federal tax to the IRS. After that, they may owe up to 37% in total federal taxes. After all federal taxes are taken into account, the winner would take home approximately $198.9 million from the cash option.

If the winner lives in a state that also taxes lottery winnings, the final amount drops again. Only a few places have no state lottery tax, like Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. In most other states, the prize amount decreases after state taxes are applied.

For example, in New York, which has the highest state lottery tax, the jackpot amounts to approximately $356.1 million for the annuity option or just $164.5 million for the cash option.

Buying more tickets does not guarantee a win

Many players use different methods or “lucky” tricks, but there is no real way to increase your chances except by buying more tickets. To guarantee a win, a person would have to buy 292,201,338 different tickets, which would cost about $584 million. After taxes, they would still incur a loss. So it is not a good plan.

Even so, over the years, more than 200 Powerball jackpots have been won by people who bought just one or a few tickets.

When is the next drawing?

The next Powerball drawing is on Wednesday at 10:59 p.m. ET. The game is played in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Someone might take home a huge holiday surprise this Thanksgiving Eve and maybe even change their life forever.