The Mega Hundreds of thousands jackpot grew to greater than $1.6 billion on Aug. 9, 2023.Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesThe Mega Hundreds of thousands jackpot soared to an estimated $1.1 billion with no ticket matching all six balls on Friday night time.It is smaller than final 12 months’s report $1.6 billion grand prize, however the victor might nonetheless face some expensive pitfalls, specialists say.”None of those winners take into consideration taxes till they’ve a 3rd of it going proper to Uncle Sam and the state authorities,” stated Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago-based lawyer who has represented a number of lottery winners.None of those winners take into consideration taxes till they’ve a 3rd of it going proper to Uncle Sam and the state authorities.Andrew StoltmannLawyerEight states — together with California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming — do not levy earnings taxes on lottery winnings.Nevertheless, you need to redeem the profitable ticket within the state the place to procure it, that means an out-of-state buy in a high-tax state might set off a much bigger invoice.However the annuity payout might save on future state taxes, relying on the place you select to reside, Stoltmann stated. The annuity contains an preliminary sum adopted by 29 annual funds.Lottery winners have a set timeline to come back ahead and acquire their cash — and a few prizes have gone unclaimed.”Signal your ticket, take images and scans after which safe it,” stated Michael Whitty, associate at legislation agency Smith, Gambrell and Russell, who has additionally suggested previous lottery winners.Mega Hundreds of thousands says it’s vital to “shield your self” by signing the again of your ticket. In any other case, anybody who holds the profitable ticket can file a declare to gather the proceeds.Alternatively, there could also be methods to guard your privateness by claiming the prize cash by way of a belief or restricted legal responsibility company. Regardless, you must seek the advice of an lawyer first.You may even have profitable ticket points when pooling cash with pals or co-workers, in line with Stoltmann.”The nastiest authorized catfights occur when a bunch of individuals purchase a ticket collectively” and one particular person claims they purchased the profitable ticket alone, he stated.You must all the time have a “fundamental written settlement” that outlines who bought the tickets, the numbers on these shared tickets and the way the group will cut up the cash if there is a winner, Stoltmann stated.Mega Hundreds of thousands is not the one approach to win massive. The Powerball jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $800 million with no massive winner from Saturday night time’s drawing. The probabilities of scoring the grand prize for that recreation are roughly 1 in 292 million.Don’t miss these tales from CNBC PRO: