If you have dreams of picking up the BIG check for this week's Powerball, you're not alone. The jackpot is the fourth largest in history, which has everyone wanting a piece of the pie. Even if you don't normally play, when the money gets this big a lot of people will take a chance.

But exactly how much will you get to take home? You might be shocked at how much the government is going to get. CNBC is breaking it down for us.

  • If you take the cash option, that automatically reduces it down to $465.5 million.
  • 24% federal withholding will take it down another $111.7 million.
  • If you have no other deductions to your taxable income, another 13% is taken out, which is $60.5 million.
  • So, that's $172.2 million all going to the federal government, which makes your total SO FAR at $293.3 million.
  • Then there's the state taxes, which go from 1% - 8%, depending upon where you live.
  • So, if you're wondering what the total is in just taxes from your winning jackpot, you can count on losing up to 45%, which is kind of staggering even with all that's left over.
  • And let's be honest, it's not like our tax dollars are being used wisely these days either.

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