How much would you really get if you win Mega Millions?

Posted: 03/30/2012

BALTIMORE -

Winning $540 million sounds like a lot of money, but so does the cash option of $341 million.

If you won Mega Millions in Maryland you’d have to pay a 25 percent federal tax, then about a 9 percent tax in Maryland, according to USAMega.com.

If you aren’t a Maryland resident, you’ll have to pay a 7.5 percent tax.

What would that mean for your winnings?

If you win the $540-million you would take home $13.8 million a year for 26 years.

If you take the lump sum of $389 million you would end up walking away with more than $259 million after taxes.

Baltimore, MD

Special Reports

SPECIAL REPORT | Day care inspections

SPECIAL REPORT | Thousands of child care center inspections reports are NOW AVAILABLE. Find out what inspectors founds inside day care centers across the state.
Inside a Criminal Mind | Jason Scott

SPECIAL REPORT | When it's out of your hands, when your life is at the mercy of an armed, masked man staring down at you from the barrel of a gun in your own home, you grasp at whatever it is you can control; breathing, composure, or faith.
- Watch Video
SPECIAL REPORT | Bad Medicine

SPECIAL REPORT | ABC2 Investigator Joce Sterman has reviewed thousands of pages of documents for her Bad Medicine report.