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July 26 (UPI) -- The top cash prize for Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing is now at an estimated $810 million, making it the third-largest amount in the history of that lottery. Anyone lucky enough to claim the prize will have a choice of taking either 30 annual payments over 29 years, or a one-time lump sum cash payment of approximately $470.1 million.
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However, the $470.1 million option comes with a hefty tax bill.
A winner with no other income would end up handing over more than $61 million to the IRS. Adjusting for a mandatory 24% federal withholding tax as well as standard income tax would leave a potential winner with approximately $296.2 million. That figure does not take into account any applicable state taxes.
The jackpot is up from $790 million after the previous draw Friday ended without a winner.
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 303 million.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.537 billion on Oct. 23, 2018. The winning ticket was sold in South Carolina.
Tuesday's draw takes place at 11 p.m. EDT in Atlanta.
