# Another Lottery Question:  How much do I actually end up with?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-lottery-question-how-much-do-i-actually-end-up-with/397194>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 23, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-lottery-question-how-much-do-i-actually-end-up-with/397194 "2007-03-23T15:34:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-lottery-question-how-much-do-i-actually-end-up-with/397194/21 "2007-03-24T03:59:13Z")

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In Virginia, with our state tax and federal tax taken out, and the cash option, you get $355,000 for each million in the jackpot. (%50 for cash out, %71 for post tax total)

Tris

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**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-lottery-question-how-much-do-i-actually-end-up-with/397194/22 "2007-03-24T04:58:23Z")

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What an interesting thread. Here you don’t get a choice between a lump sum or an income benefit. The $x million prize means exactly that: $x million paid into your bank account, free of tax.

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**Author:** ![bob\_loblaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bob\_loblaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_loblaw)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-lottery-question-how-much-do-i-actually-end-up-with/397194/23 "2007-03-24T10:43:45Z")

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in canada, lottery winnings are tax free. so for example, last week’s super 7 estimated jackpot of $18, 000, 000.00 actually paid out $18,292,405.00 to one winner.

now, if the winner of that jackpot were to just plunk that cheque into a savings account, future interest earnings would be considered taxable income.

of course, one hopes that $18 million could, in part, buy some better financial advice than “plunk it into a savings account.”

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