If you stand to claim a Mega Millions jackpot, or any other lottery prize, one of the first things you should do is seek out advice from financial experts.

While an automatic 24% is withheld upfront, you would almost certainly owe a total of 37% when you file your 2024 tax return.

As the Mega Millions jackpot continues to rise to higher and higher numbers, here is what you need to know ahead of the next drawing.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302 million, according to lottery organizers, and the last Mega Millions jackpot was won in Texas on Sept. 10 for $810 million. Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Friday’s drawing is at 8 p.m.

Americans still dreaming of a really big Christmas present can keep that dream alive during Friday's Mega Millions drawing for a jackpot worth an estimated $1.15 billion. Friday’s jackpot will potentially be the fifth largest in the game's history.

The Mega Million jackpot is expected to rise to over $1.15 billion ahead of Friday's drawing, making it the fifth largest jackpot in the game's history. The jackpot for the Mega Millions lottery game has been growing since Sept. 10. The one time cash payout would be $516.1 million, according to the Massachusetts' lottery.

If hit, the $1.15 billion jackpot would be the fifth largest in the history of the game, lottery officials said.

Hang onto those stocking-stuffer lottery tickets. The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed $1 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve.

A Mega Millions ticket sold in California matched five numbers to win nearly $1.8 million and just missed the $1 billion jackpot, lottery officials say. The ticket matched five winning numbers, but not the Mega Ball, in the drawing Tuesday, Dec. 24, the national Mega Millions site said.