A FLORIDA man has finally claimed his $41million jackpot but was only able to take home $24million.
Darren Martini, of Cape Coral, Florida, had his winning lottery numbers drawn on Christmas Eve 2022.
Despite this, the 57-year-old just claimed his winnings in April.
He took home a lump sum payment of $24,559,932.33 from the Florida Lottery.
A huge chunk of the money went to taxes, 24 percent to be exact.
According to the Florida Lottery's website, prizes of $5,000 or more will be subject to this tax.
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Choosing to get the payment as a lump sum rather than in a series of payments also forces the winner to pay more taxes.
When winners choose the annuity options, installments are paid out as one immediate payment followed by a series of annual payments.
This option guarantees money coming in for years or even decades.
However, there are risks associated with this option too.
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The group making the payments may run out of money, or the winner could die before collecting their total earnings.
Tax rates are also likely to increase over the years, decreasing the amount of money you're getting.
ANOTHER LOTTO LOSS
Lottery winner "Sydney Kidney Bean" shared her story about winning the lottery on TikTok.
She won $50,000 on a $5 scratch-off but only took home $35,000 after she chose to collect the taxed amount.
"I chose that option. I wanted the taxes gone immediately because I didn't want to spend money that I didn't have," she said.
"So, I just didn't wanna take chances with having to pay a bunch of taxes later on and not having the money."
"And if I had the full $50,000, I would be tempted to spend all of it when really I can't do that because I have to pay taxes on this amount," she clarified.
Several people in the comments commended her for her decision, saying she was smart to think ahead.
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Another winner took home only half the amount they won due to taxes.
Plus, $1.6million is still up for grabs as a lottery ticket remains unclaimed.
