Can the $800 million Mega Millions jackpot winner remain anonymous?

2 months ago 4

Only a handful of states allow lottery winners to stay anonymous. The rest of the U.S. requires them to come forward publicly to claim their jackpot prizes.

WASHINGTON — The sole winner of Tuesday night's Mega Millions jackpot woke up Wednesday morning $800 million richer.

But we may never know who that person or group is, because they bought the ticket in Texas.

The winning ticket is either worth $800 million, paid out in monthly installments over several decades, or a lump sum cash option worth $404.2 million.

Where was the winning Mega Millions ticket sold?

The ticket was sold at a Murphy USA gas station in Sugar Land, Texas, outside of Houston.

Usually, state lotteries reward the store that sold the winning ticket with a cash prize, sometimes as high as $1 million.

Can the Mega Millions winner remain anonymous?

Texas law says that any lottery winner with a prize over $1 million may maintain their anonymity when coming forward to claim the prize.

Only 11 states, including Texas, allow anonymous lottery winners. The rest of the U.S. requires them to come forward publicly, usually sometime within a year after winning the jackpot.

Officials say public winners promote trust in lottery games like the Mega Millions contest because they put faces and names to the winners, allowing other players to know for sure that a real winner has been selected.

In Texas, the winner has only 180 days, or six months, to claim the jackpot. The shortened timeframe (some states give up to a year for winners to come forward) puts additional pressure on the lucky person to develop a plan for what to do with their new fortune.

Does the Mega Millions jackpot winner have to pay taxes on their winnings?

While the winner can remain anonymous to the public, they'll need to provide proper identification so the state can process the claim and report the winnings to the IRS.

A lottery win can catapult the ticketholder into a completely new tax bracket, and most financial professionals suggest holding off on claiming the ticket until securing at least one financial advisor to walk them through the process of claiming the money and making sure it doesn't disappear.

But if they're smart, the winner will likely take some time to plan before coming forward. Part of the reason lotteries give up to a year to claim large prizes is that the extra time gives people who have just come into an unfathomable amount of money a chance to meet with experts who can walk them through the process.

“So by far, the biggest misconception that we hear or read and see is, is that the money seems to be infinite when it certainly is not,” wealth advisor Shean Fletcher previously told the Associated Press, adding that winners should meet with financial advisers, lawyers and certified public accountants to make a plan.

There are hefty taxes to deal with, regardless of whether the winner takes the lump sum payout or the month-to-month annuity option, so the winner will need a good accountant.

The initial tax bills aren't the only reason financial experts warn lottery winners to take it slow — you shouldn't buy a pricey home without a good idea of recurring taxes and upkeep, for example.

A good financial advisor will help a winner avoid spending outside their means (even if those means have increased exponentially overnight) and a lawyer can help stop possible lawsuits from those looking to take their own cut of the earnings.

Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024

The winning numbers were 1-2-16-24-66, Mega Ball: 6 Megaplier: 4X.

When a winner matches all five numbers and the Mega Ball, they have the option to take the full jackpot paid out as an annuity over 30 years, or a smaller lump sum cash payout. Winners almost always take the cash option.

The cash option for Tuesday's drawing was $404.2 million.

Players who match only the first five numbers win at least $1 million.

Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. Tickets are $2 each. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold.

The odds of winning the jackpot are one in more than 302 million. The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24.

The top Mega Millions jackpot ticket — $1.6 billion — was sold in Florida in August of last year.