Lottery annuity calculator

A graduated annuity starts from a base payment and grows by a fixed rate each year. Payment in year n equals base × (1 + annual increase)ⁿ⁻¹. The calculator solves for that base so all gross payments add up to the advertised jackpot before tax (the final payment absorbs cent rounding).

At 5% annual growth on the Powerball and Mega Millions default, later checks can be several times larger than year one on a nine-figure jackpot. Set annual increase to 0% under Custom terms for equal yearly installments, which some state games use instead.

Enter the jackpot above to see payments instantly, or use the table below as a reference for a $1 million / 30-year / 5% schedule.

Numbers in the table match this calculator’s engine for a $1 million advertised annuity. Change the jackpot or terms above the tool to regenerate the full 30-row schedule.

The same 30 payments and 5% growth formula applies whether the headline is $100 million, $500 million, or $1 billion. Only the dollar amounts change. The table shows gross installments before tax at three milestone years (Powerball / Mega Millions preset).

On a $500 million annuity, year-1 gross is about $7.53 million and year-30 about $30.98 million before tax (five times the $100M column in the table below). Tap the $500M preset above the tool for the full schedule with your tax settings.

Select the $100M, $500M, or $1B preset above the tool, then expand Payment schedule for all 30 years, cumulative gross, and estimated net for your state and filing status.

On a $1 billion annuity, year-1 gross is about $15.05 million and year-30 about $61.95 million before tax, for 30 graduated payments that total the full headline amount. If the cash option were 52% of the annuity value, that lump sum would be about $520 million gross before tax. The real cash percentage changes every drawing.

Net take-home depends on withholding, brackets, and state. Use the compare cards for lump-sum vs annuity net totals instead of relying on gross billboards alone.

Open Payment schedule under the compare cards to see every installment in one table. Each row is a payment year: gross (before tax), federal withholding, estimated additional federal tax, state tax, estimated net, and cumulative gross so you can track how much of the headline jackpot has been paid out over time.

Long jackpots span 30 rows on the default preset. Use pagination to move through years; totals always match the advertised annuity before tax, with the last payment adjusted for cent rounding. That makes this page useful as a lottery annuity payment schedule for spreadsheets, news checks, or conversations with a CPA, not just a single headline number.

Download CSV for every year and tax column in Excel or Google Sheets. PDF includes summary inputs, compare totals, and the first slice of the schedule (with a note when more rows exist in CSV). Nothing is stored on our servers; inputs and results stay in your browser.

Compare cards above the table summarize total gross annuity, total estimated net annuity, and lump-sum net using the same tax settings, so you do not have to sum 30 rows by hand.

Choosing between a lottery lump sum and annuity usually comes down to timing, taxes, and how you plan to use the money. Lump sum pays the published cash value upfront. You can invest or spend it right away, but a large prize can trigger a heavy tax bill in the claim year. Annuity pays the full advertised total in installments, which can steady spending and spread taxable income across years. Each payment is still taxed when you receive it.

Neither option is always better after taxes. Run both paths in the calculator with your state and filing status to compare estimated net totals. For optional return assumptions on net cash flows, see the reinvestment section below.

To discount future installments to today’s dollars, use our present value calculator with your own discount rate. That is separate from the reinvestment compare block in this tool.

To model growing a cash payout over time, pair results with our compound interest calculator or future value calculator.

Taxes and timing are only part of the cash vs annuity decision. Some winners ask what happens if they invest the lump sum or reinvest each net installment at a steady annual return. Enter an annual reinvestment rate (for example 4% or 6%) to see illustrative end-of-schedule values: one path compounds the net lump sum for the full schedule length; the other reinvests each net annuity payment until the final year.

Those figures are planning math only, not a prediction of stock or bond returns, and they use the same net cash flows as the tax columns. At 0% the reinvestment compare card stays so the page stays focused on gross and net schedules alone.

Reinvestment compares future values at your chosen rate. To express today’s value of future installments, use the present value calculator with a discount rate you choose; that answers a different question than reinvesting net payments forward.

Rates above 15% are capped in the tool because extreme assumptions rarely help real planning. Export CSV or PDF if you want to share the underlying net cash flows with an advisor.

You can estimate federal and state tax on each payment in this free calculator. Pick filing status and state of residence, and every schedule row shows illustrative federal withholding, estimated additional federal tax, state tax, and net. Lottery prizes are taxable income. Payers often withhold 24% federal on large payments (see IRS Topic 419). Jackpots can still push you into the top 37% federal bracket when you file, so you may owe more than was withheld, especially on a large lump sum in a single year.

With an annuity, each installment is taxed when paid. That can spread federal and state liability across decades, but a big year-1 payment after a record jackpot can still land in high brackets. The schedule export includes federal withholding, estimated additional federal tax, state tax, and net per row.

State tax depends on where you live when you claim (rules vary; some states have no broad income tax on lottery prizes). Select your state in the tool for an illustrative estimate, not official withholding tables or multi-state residency advice.

Use the Powerball / Mega Millions preset for headline jackpots in either game: 30 payments with about a 5% raise each year, plus lump-sum compare at your cash value percentage. Smaller prizes, ticket prices, Power Play, and Mega’s prize chart still differ by game.

The preset does not pull live drawing data. Enter the annuity total and cash value % from the lottery’s website or your claim paperwork so lump vs annuity matches that drawing. Claim windows and payment start dates are set by your state lottery, not modeled here.

Use this page for a flexible annuity model. Use the Powerball payout calculator when you need tier prizes, odds, or Power Play on non-jackpot wins.

In short: this page handles custom payment count, escalation rate, and schedules for any advertised jackpot. The Powerball payout calculator adds the prize chart, Power Play, and tier-level tax detail.

Some state and regional games pay equal annual installments over 20, 25, or 30 years with no yearly raise. That is what people often mean by a 20 year lottery annuity payout (or 25 / 30 year level plan). Choose Custom terms, enter the payment count from your prize rules, and set annual increase to 0% for level payouts.

You can model 2 to 40 payments and an annual increase from 0% to 10%, useful when a game graduates payments on a different schedule than the 5% Powerball/Mega default.

The schedule updates live with gross, cumulative gross, and estimated net. For graduated state games, keep a positive annual increase instead of 0%.

Everything recalculates as you type. There is no submit button. Start with the preset that matches your game, then refine jackpot, cash value %, tax settings, and optional reinvestment rate. Results appear in the compare cards; the full year-by-year payment schedule sits in the collapsible schedule panel.

Main inputs: advertised jackpot, game preset or custom payment count and annual increase, cash value percentage for lump compare, filing status, state of residence, and optional annual reinvestment rate (0–15%). Jackpot presets ($100M / $500M / $1B) only fill the headline field. You still control taxes and cash value.