Powerball jackpot hits $674 million: what the winner keeps after taxes
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- The Powerball jackpot reached $674 million after no winner on October 21. The next drawing is Saturday, October 24.
- The cash option is $283.9 million before taxes. Forbes estimates the winner would keep about $178.8 million after federal taxes.
- Three tickets won $1 million or more on Wednesday. Tickets in Ohio and Pennsylvania won $2 million each with the Power Play.
The Powerball jackpot is now $674 million. The next drawing is on Saturday, October 24. A winner who takes the cash option would keep about $178.8 million after federal taxes.
What happened
No ticket matched all six numbers on Wednesday, October 21. The jackpot was $635 million that night, according to powerball.com. The prize now rolls over to the Saturday drawing.
The jackpot has grown fast. It stood at $610.6 million on October 19. It rose by more than $60 million in just two drawings. Wednesday was the 30th drawing in a row with no jackpot winner.
The $674 million prize is the second biggest Powerball jackpot of 2026. Forbes reported that ranking through the Men's Journal. The biggest win this year came on August 12, when a ticket sold in Illinois won $1.04 billion, Fox 32 Chicago reported. Its cash value was $450.5 million.
Wednesday night still made some big winners. Three tickets matched all five white balls but missed the red Powerball.
The tickets sold in Ohio and Pennsylvania each won $2 million because they added the Power Play, which doubled the prize. A ticket sold in New Jersey won $1 million.
The winning numbers were 1, 21, 44, 50 and 57. The Powerball was 5. The Power Play was 2x, according to the IndyStar.
How big this jackpot really is
This is the second biggest Powerball prize of 2026, but not of all time. The record stands at $2.04 billion, won in California on November 7, 2022. The second largest was $1.817 billion, won in Arkansas on December 24, 2025.
A $1.787 billion jackpot was split between Missouri and Texas on September 6, 2025. The $1.04 billion Illinois win on August 12 ranks eighth in Powerball history. These figures come from powerball.com, as reported by the IndyStar.
The jackpot reset to about $20 million right after that August win. It has grown with every drawing since, according to the North Dakota Lottery draw history. That steady climb is why the prize feels so large now.
Cash or annuity: what the winner keeps
The winner gets two choices. Take the full $674 million in yearly payments, or take one smaller cash payment right away. Most jackpot winners take the cash.
The cash option is $283.9 million before taxes, according to Powerball. That is the actual money set aside for this prize. It is always much smaller than the advertised jackpot.
Taxes then take a big bite. The lottery holds back 24 percent for federal taxes right away.
That is called withholding, and it works like tax on a paycheck. Learn how tax withholding works on pay.
But the real tax bill is higher than the withholding. The top federal tax rate is 37 percent. It applies to most of a jackpot this size.
Forbes estimated the cash winner would keep about $178.8 million after federal taxes, the Men's Journal reported.
The annuity tells the same story in smaller pieces. The full $674 million is paid over 30 years.
Forbes estimated about $22.5 million a year before taxes. After the top 37 percent federal rate, that is about $14.15 million a year.
States take their cut too. Most states tax lottery winnings on top of federal tax. Florida, Texas and California do not tax Powerball winnings at the state level.
Where the ticket was bought decides the final number.
What happens next
The next drawing is Saturday, October 24, at 10:59 PM ET. Tickets cost $2. Powerball draws three times a week: Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
The $674 million figure is still an estimate. The final number depends on how many tickets sell. Powerball warns players to confirm the prize with their state lottery before making plans.
If no one wins on Saturday, the jackpot grows again. Every rollover adds more money to the pot. The longer the wait, the bigger the prize.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball. Matching just the red Powerball pays $4. You can read the October 12 winning numbers to see how recent drawings played out.
The wait continues until someone beats the odds. Saturday night will show if this run ends or if the jackpot climbs even higher.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice.
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