Legal
Estimates only. Not tax advice.
Lottery Dreams shows you a best-effort estimate of after-tax winnings. It is not a substitute for a CPA, tax attorney, enrolled agent, or financial advisor. If you actually win, please — please — hire a professional before you do anything else.
Last updated: August 4, 2026 · Effective: August 4, 2026
1. What Lottery Dreams is
Lottery Dreams is an iOS application and website operated by BagYak, LLC. It provides estimates of the after-tax cash value of advertised U.S. lottery jackpots (currently Powerball and Mega Millions) using publicly available federal, state, and, where applicable, local tax rates. The estimates illustrate the general magnitude of taxes on a hypothetical lump-sum prize. They are informational only.
2. What Lottery Dreams is not
- It is not tax advice. Nothing in the app or on this site constitutes tax, legal, accounting, investment, financial, or estate-planning advice.
- It is not tax-preparation software or a wage-withholding calculator.
- It is not affiliated with the Multi-State Lottery Association, Powerball, Mega Millions, the IRS, any state lottery commission, or any taxing authority.
- It does not predict whether you will win or what any jackpot will grow to.
- It does not account for your full personal tax situation — deductions, credits, charitable plans, claiming entities (trusts or LLCs), payment elections, and existing liabilities can materially change the real number.
3. Limitations of the estimate
- Tax law changes. Federal brackets, state rates, and local surtaxes change; there can be a lag before our tables reflect a change.
- Jurisdictional quirks. Some states exempt lottery winnings; some localities levy their own tax; a few rules (reciprocity, tie-breakers) we do not model.
- Withholding vs. liability. We separate mandatory withholding from total tax owed, but your actual gap depends on your full return.
- Non-resident prizes. Winning in a state you don’t live in can trigger filings we don’t simulate.
- Annuity vs. lump sum. The app defaults to the lump-sum cash option; annuity winners face different timing and potentially different effective rates.
- Other income. Your real marginal rate may differ from what we display.
If your take-home changes by a million dollars based on a decision, you need a human professional. We are a calculator. We are not your lawyer.
4. No client relationship
Using Lottery Dreams does not create an attorney–client, accountant–client, or fiduciary relationship with BagYak, LLC. Nothing you enter into the app is privileged.
5. If you actually win
This is the part where we sound like a parent. Please:
- Sign the back of the ticket. Photograph it. Put it somewhere safe.
- Do not announce the win publicly. Do not post about it.
- Contact a CPA and a tax/estate attorney licensed in your state — ideally both, before you contact the lottery.
- Ask about a claiming entity, annuity vs. lump sum, and your state’s anonymity rules.
- Only then contact the lottery commission to claim.
A good professional will save you many multiples of their fee. Use us to imagine the number; use them to keep it.
6. No warranty
The app and this site are provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. See our Terms of Use for the complete legal terms.