A WOMAN was shocked when a $10 scratch-off gave her $1 million. However, she lost $350,000 because she made a hasty choice.
She bought the lottery ticket while getting her daughter a bag of chips. With a $10 ticket, a woman won $1 million. But because she made a hasty choice, she lost $350,000.
From what MassLive knows, Amy Kowal from Chicopee, Massachusetts, bought the “$4,000,000 Lion’s Share” scratch-off at the Pride Market on 167 Chicopee Street.
She told the lottery that she had gone to the store to get her daughter a bag of Doritos. Kowal found out she won $1 million when she scratched the ticket, and she claimed her win on August 15, according to the news source.
The mom from Massachusetts decided to get her money all at once instead of over time. Before taxes, this one-time payment was worth $650,000. MassLive said that the Pride Market where Kowal bought her $10 ticket will get an extra $10,000 for selling the winning ticket.
On April 16, the game “$4,000,000 Lion’s Share” came out. A report from August 19 says that there are still two big prizes worth $4 million and three prizes worth $1 million to be claimed.
LOTTO LOSS
Kowal won $1 million, but she only got $650,000 before taxes because she decided to get her prize all at once. If the winner chooses a lump sum, they get their whole prize all at once, and it is only charged once.
People who win the lottery who choose an annuity payment, on the other hand, get their money slowly, usually over 30 years. This kind of payment can give people time to save money before getting a huge sum of money that could change their lives.
Kowal lost $350,000 on her prize before taxes, but she will only have to pay taxes on it once. A lot of other lottery winners have picked to get their money all at once.
A big sum or an annuity for lottery winnings?
People who win a lot of money on the lottery usually have to decide between a lump sum and an annuity.
How much money you get from your prize can change between the two payout ways.
A lot of the time, annuities pay out slowly over 30 years. When you get a lump sum, you pay all at once, but the amount you get is less because taxes are due all at once. That means Uncle Sam gets 24% of your prize right away. Wins are also taxed in many states.
Annuities can give winners time to get their finances in order before they get a life-changing amount of money, but big sums are taxed only once, which is an advantage.
When making a choice, you should also think about inflation, since benefits don’t change with the value of a dollar. That means the money you get from an annuity will probably be worth less as the term goes on.
Since prize payouts are different for each state and game, it’s best to check with your state’s lotto to make sure you know how to get your money. A financial expert can also help you think about what’s good and bad about each choice.
Different experts have different ideas about whether you should take the lump sum or the pension. Another winner in Massachusetts picked a lump sum that cost a lot of money. When they won $15 million, they took home $9.75 million before state and federal taxes.
A grandmother in North Carolina won $4 million, but after taxes and deciding to get the money all at once, she only got $1,716,009.
She told Queen City News, “I think I’m still in shock.”
Based on the state’s lottery page, Massachusetts has many different lottery games, including The Instant Game, Mega Bucks, The Numbers Game, and Mass Cash. It also has Lucky Roll, Double Cash, Triple Tripler, Big Blue Bonus Cashword, and Waves of Cash games.