Powerball Wednesday Jackpot: How Much Payout And Taxes Will Winner Get

There’s always been one consistent winner in all the Powerball Jackpots ever drawn, and it’s the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). The IRS will always get its cut. Always.

The next Powerball draw is no exception. Sure, the prize is an eye-popping $550 million for Wednesday night’s draw. This will be the eighth largest pot in Powerball history, and while you can’t really say the guy or guys who win will be losers because of the big tax bite, that’s the way it’s always been played.

Oddsmakers estimate your chance of taking home what’s left after taxes is about 1 in 292 million. You’re 400 times more likely to be struck by lightning in the U.S. than you are at winning this Powerball draw.

Notably, federal and state taxes combined can chomp-off more than 45 percent of winnings.

This means that if the winner of the Wedneday draw chooses the cash option, he’d go home with $335 million -- but the taxes don’t end here. There’s still the 24 percent withholding tax, which will reduce this amount by $80.4 million, leaving the winner with a $250 million.

The take home is plainly obvious -- you won $550 million on paper and went home with $250 million in fact. Still not bad, but don’t you wish you had that $250 millon Uncle Sam got for free?

But the state's take doesn’t end here. No, sir.

Assuming the winner had no reduction to his or their taxable income, another 13 percent (or $43.6 million) will be taken by the IRS (or $124 million in all).

That would leave the winner with $211 million before state taxes. These taxes range from zero to more than 8 percent, depending on where the ticket was purchased and where the winner lives. The net result is a real take home of less than $200 million.

“The big impact on winnings is taxes,” certified financial planner Dan Routh, a wealth advisor at Exencial Wealth Advisors in Oklahoma City, told CNBC. “If you win, just realize how big the tax bill can be and make sure you’re ready to handle it.”

But, yes, you can exact some measure of revenge on Uncle Sam for denying you what’s truly yours by chance. One tip: make a cash donation of up to 60 percent of your adjusted gross income and carry forward, up to five years, any excess amount.

A number of previous Powerball winners also set-up their own charitable foundation and donate a portion of their windfall to this foundation.