You match all six numbers. The screen says you won $1,000,000. In your head, that money is already spent: the house, the car, the trip you've been putting off for a decade. Here's the part the celebration skips: the lottery never hands you a million dollars.
The moment a prize crosses $5,000, the agency is required to withhold 24% for federal taxes before the check ever reaches you. On a $1,000,000 prize, that's $240,000 gone off the top, leaving roughly $760,000 in your account. Most winners look at that figure and assume the bill is paid in full. It isn't. That 24% is just a deposit.
Here's the math they hope you never run before April. A seven-figure win lands you in the top federal bracket of 37%, which applies to income above $640,600 for a single filer in 2026. The 24% the lottery already withheld doesn't come close to covering a 37% obligation. That leaves a gap of roughly 13% on a large slice of your winnings, and the IRS expects it when you file your return, not before. Nobody mails you a reminder.
On that $1,000,000 prize, the withholding covered $240,000, but your actual federal liability climbs well past it. Once the winnings stack on top of your regular salary, you could owe another $90,000 or more at filing time. That's money no longer sitting in your account, because by April you already spent it on the car, the trip, and paying off the house.
That's the trap. The withholding feels like the tax. It's a down payment on the tax.
Then the state shows up. Where you bought the ticket and where you live decide whether you keep almost all of what's left or lose another double-digit slice. A winner in Florida, Texas, or Tennessee pays $0 in state tax on the prize. A winner in New York can lose more than 10% to combined state and local taxes, easily over $100,000 on a million-dollar win. Same jackpot, same federal bill, but the final take-home can sit tens of thousands of dollars apart, decided entirely by a ZIP code.
This is why the round numbers in your head almost never match reality. Between the 24% withholding, the climb to 37%, and a state rate that ranges from nothing to more than 10%, the prize you celebrated and the money you keep are two very different figures.
Enter your prize amount, your filing status, and your state above, and the calculator separates the mandatory withholding from your true liability so you see the number that actually matters: what lands in your bank account after every layer of tax is settled.