How Much Money Would You Really Get if You Won $1.9B Powerball?

If you've ever had a windfall of money, you know there are always people (most from the government) who will have their hand out wanting a part of it. That would especially be the case if you won the $1.9 billion dollar Powerball. How much would you really take home? The actual number will likely surprise you even if your expectations are low based not just on national taxes, but also the state of Missouri.

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I'm not the first to think of this. KMBC out of Kansas City shared an interesting story based on a site that breaks down lottery winnings and how much you would hypothetically take home.

The site USA Mega shows how much of the $1.9 billion Powerball pot would go home with you. It is fascinating how fast that huge pile of cash gets shaved down to a lesser (but still admittedly amazing) amount. Here's their breakdown for a single person:

If you won the $1.9 billion dollar Powerball, the cash payout would be $929,100,000.

The federal government would immediately take $222,984,000. That's the first 24%. Then they take an additional $120,745,955 just because they can. That means your cash payout of $929,100,000 would be whittled down to $585,370,045. But, wait...there's more.

If you live in Illinois, the state will open up their hand and kind request (meaning grab) another $45,990,450. In Missouri, with 2 different levels of taxation, $50,171,400 would be subtracted.

The result is your lump sum out of $1.9 billion dollars would result in a approximately $535,000,000 give or take (likely take) a few more million before you can settle in and enjoy your windfall.

As I mentioned, this is for one winner filing their taxes individually. It's different for married couples, but you get the idea. Would half a billion dollars be epic? Sure. Just don't have any illusions when you hear the $1.9 billion dollar number that you'd see even half of it because the taxman cometh.