Mega Millions jackpot reaches $1.05B. – NBC Chicago

Lottery players will try their lucky at an enormous $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot on Tuesday — one of the largest in the game’s history — despite the low chances of winning it all.

If one person chooses all five winning numbers and the Mega Ball, they’ll have two options: to take one lump sum payment or annuities, which would be dished out in 30 increments over 29 years.

Regardless of which option you take, you’ll have to pay taxes — so unfortunately, the prize won’t be as high as you originally thought. A single winner who chose the cash option, the more popular choice of the two, would receive $401.2 million after paying 24% in federal taxes, which in this instance amounts to $126.7 million.

While some states don’t have additional taxes on lottery wins, others like Illinois do, with some exceeding 8%. In Illinois, lottery wins are subject to a 4.95% tax — similar to gambling earnings. Given that, you’d have to pay an additional $26.13 million,…