Terms of use

1. Acceptance

By using thelotterymath.com you agree to these terms. If you do not agree with them, please do not use the site. We may update these terms, and continued use after an update means you accept the revised version. The date at the top reflects the current version.

2. What this site is

The Lottery Math is an educational tool that estimates the after tax value of a Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot using publicly available federal tax brackets and state tax rates. It exists to illustrate the difference between an advertised jackpot and a realistic payout. It is a calculator, not a service, and it does not handle, hold, claim, or process any lottery prize.

The site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Powerball, Mega Millions, the Multi-State Lottery Association, or any state lottery commission. All game names and trademarks belong to their respective owners and are used only to identify the games being described.

3. Not professional advice

Nothing on this site is tax, legal, financial, investment, or accounting advice, and no content here creates a professional or advisory relationship of any kind. The calculator cannot know your other income, your deductions, your residency history, your marital situation, your state of purchase, or any planning structure you might use, all of which materially change a real tax outcome.

If you are holding a winning ticket, or making any decision involving a significant sum, engage a licensed CPA and an attorney in your jurisdiction before you act. Do not substitute this site for that.

4. Accuracy and no warranty

We make a genuine effort to be accurate. Our sources and formulas are documented on the methodology page, including an explicit list of what the calculator does not model. Even so, the site is provided on an as is and as available basis, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including any implied warranty of accuracy, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose.

Specifically, we do not warrant that tax rates shown are current, that jackpot figures pulled from third-party sources are correct or up to date, that calculations are free of error, or that the site will be available without interruption. Tax law changes, official pages change format, and automated data retrieval can fail.

5. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the operator of this site is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, savings, data, or goodwill, arising out of or relating to your use of or reliance on this site, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

This includes any decision you make based on a figure shown here, whether that figure is correct or not. You use the numbers on this site at your own risk. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

6. Acceptable use

You may use this site for personal, non commercial purposes, and you are welcome to reference or link to it. You agree not to attempt to disrupt or overload the site, probe it for vulnerabilities, circumvent rate limiting or other protective measures, scrape it at volume, or use automated systems in a way that degrades service for other people.

7. Intellectual property

The written content, design, and code of this site belong to its operator. Underlying facts such as tax rates, bracket thresholds, jackpot amounts, and drawing results are not owned by anyone and you are free to use them. If you quote our written explanations, please attribute and link back.

8. Third party content and links

The site displays data and headlines obtained from third parties, including official lottery sources and news feeds, and links to external sites. We do not control that content and are not responsible for its accuracy or for the practices of sites we link to. Headlines from news sources remain the property of their publishers and are shown with attribution and a link to the original.

9. Advertising and contributions

The site is supported by voluntary reader contributions and may also be supported by advertising in the future. If ads are enabled, they may be served by third-party networks, and their presence does not imply we endorse the advertiser. Contributions are voluntary, are processed by a third-party payment provider, purchase no product or service, and are not refundable as a matter of course since nothing is being sold. See the privacy policy for how advertising and payment data are handled.

10. Changes and availability

We may change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the site at any time without notice. This is a free tool and no continuity of service is promised.

11. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. Any dispute arising from these terms or from use of the site shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Texas, and you consent to that venue. If any provision of these terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions stay in effect.

12. Contact

Questions about these terms, or corrections to anything on the site, can be sent through the contact page.