Powerball · $707M · draw Saturday · lump sum vs annuity
Take the cash, or take thirty years of checks?
A $707M jackpot is really two different offers. Here is each, after tax, in Florida.
$309.7M cash value · taxed once, at tonight’s rates
$195.2MOnce. After federal tax at the top bracket (37%) and no state income tax. Yours to spend, give, or grow from day one.
$707M over 30 payments
$446.7MEach check is taxed in the year it arrives — $6.7M the first year, $27.6M the last.
Updated after the July 29 drawing.
These are not the same kind of number — and the bigger total is not automatically the better answer. One is money today; the other is a 30-year stream. Comparing them takes one more honest step, below.
Price it for you
The thirty checks, year by year
| Year | That year’s check | Paid so far |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $6.7M | $6.7M |
| 2 | $7.1M | $13.8M |
| 3 | $7.4M | $21.3M |
| 4 | $7.8M | $29.1M |
| 5 | $8.2M | $37.3M |
| 6 | $8.6M | $45.9M |
| 7 | $9M | $54.9M |
| 8 | $9.5M | $64.4M |
| 9 | $9.9M | $74.3M |
| 10 | $10.4M | $84.8M |
| 11 | $11M | $95.7M |
| 12 | $11.5M | $107.2M |
| 13 | $12.1M | $119.3M |
| 14 | $12.7M | $132M |
| 15 | $13.3M | $145.3M |
| 16 | $14M | $159.3M |
| 17 | $14.7M | $174M |
| 18 | $15.4M | $189.4M |
| 19 | $16.2M | $205.6M |
| 20 | $17M | $222.5M |
| 21 | $17.8M | $240.4M |
| 22 | $18.7M | $259.1M |
| 23 | $19.7M | $278.7M |
| 24 | $20.6M | $299.4M |
| 25 | $21.7M | $321M |
| 26 | $22.7M | $343.8M |
| 27 | $23.9M | $367.7M |
| 28 | $25.1M | $392.7M |
| 29 | $26.3M | $419.1M |
| 30 | $27.6M | $446.7M |
Each check is taxed in its own year, at that year’s rates — thirty years of rates nobody can promise today.
The honest comparison
The annuity pays more in total. The cash arrives thirty years early, and early money earns.
The annuity ends larger — even with every check reinvested at this rate, the guaranteed schedule wins.
Above ~5.2% a year, the cash ends larger. Which is a question about rates. The one underneath it is not: whichever number you take, you still have to decide what it is for. That second question is the one this site exists for →
Not which is bigger
What would you do with either?
Someday starts from the cash — and if what you liked about the annuity was the yearly check, that is the income step, where you choose the check’s size yourself.
Someday starts from the cash — the income step builds the yearly checks back on your terms. Free, no account to begin. Florida carries over.
Why the bigger total isn’t the answer
The lottery does not have $707M. It has $309.7M, and it buys the annuity with that — the same trade you are being offered, made by someone with better rates than you. Which is why the bigger total is not, on its own, the better answer.
Thirty years of tax rates, unknown
The cash is taxed once, at rates you can read today. Each annuity check is taxed in the year it arrives, under whatever the law says then. $6.7M and $27.6M both assume today’s rates hold for thirty years, which is the one thing nobody can promise.
Estimates for entertainment purposes, not tax advice. Rates from public sources; your actual outcome depends on your full tax situation. Figures use the top federal bracket of 37% and each state’s final rate on winnings; your own bill depends on your full return. The annuity figures assume today’s rates hold for all thirty years, which no one can promise, and exclude local taxes. State rates verified against official state sources on July 13, 2026. None of this is investment advice. Someday does not sell lottery tickets and is not affiliated with Powerball, Mega Millions, or any state lottery.