This is a list of the largest jackpots, or prizes, awarded in various lotteries.

United States

All lottery winnings are subject to Federal taxation (automatically reported to the Internal Revenue Service if the win is at least $600); many smaller jurisdictions also levy taxes. The IRS requires a minimum withholding of 24% of the prize (minus the wager) of any gambling win in excess of $5,000. However, the net for a major prize often is misleading; winners often owe the IRS upon filing a return because the Federal withholding was below the winner's tax obligations. Nonresident U.S. lottery winners have 30% of winnings of at least $600 withheld. While the largest lottery prizes in the early history of U.S. state lotteries were "annuity-only," these lotteries gradually introduced a "cash option" for these games. All prizes listed below are reported as the pre-withholdings amount, as this is taxable income the player must report on their returns to be subject to taxation. Jackpots and jackpot shares listed below are annuity amounts (and the cash value). The annuities for both the Mega Millions and the Powerball are paid out in 30 annual installments, increasing 5 percent yearly. Over time, the size of Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots has generally increased because of higher ticket prices, the larger number of states participating (especially after cross-selling was allowed), and the reduced odds of winning. List of U.S. lottery drawings of $400 million or more (annuity value):

Europe

Unlike in the United States, where lottery wins are taxed, European jackpots are generally tax-free (the lotteries themselves are taxed in other ways) and jackpots are paid in a lump sum. For example, in the United Kingdom's National Lottery, wagers are split between the game operator Camelot Group and the government, with Camelot distributing its share among prizes, operating costs, profit, Camelot's "good causes" programme, with the remainder going to the government as tax.

Spain

The Spanish Christmas Lottery is considered to be the world's largest lottery. The 2011 top prize of €720 million was paid out as €4 million (US$5.2 million) to each of the 180 tickets. In 2012, the first prize was €720 million (then US$941.8 million; $1.215 billion in 2022 dollars), out of a total prize pool of €2.52 billion (US$3.297 billion; $4.255 billion in 2022 dollars). In 2016, the total prize pool was €2.310 billion ($2.414 billion). In 2020, the total prize pool was €2.38 billion ($2.897 billion).

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