including the secret tax loophole you must understand if YOU win the jackpot
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The lure of a near record $150m Powerball jackpot is seeing thousands of tickets being snapped up every minute by Aussies dreaming of the life-changing riches.
A spokesperson for the The Lott, which runs the draw, said they were anticipating a scramble to enter as the deadline to buy tickets drew near.
Draw 1445 closes at 7.30pm AEST with tickets available in-store, online and the via the official Powerball App.
The draw can be watched live on the The Lott's online channel at 9.30pm AEDT and is also telecast at that time on 7TWO.
Thursday night's Powerball draw 1445 will offer the second largest lottery jackpot in Australia's history
The Lott has also answered questions on whether a lucky winner needs to fear that much of their windfall will land in the taxman's hands.
Lottery prizes — won through entries with Golden Casket, NSW Lotteries, Tatts, Tatts NT and SA Lotteries — are classified as tax-free income in Australia but depending on how the money is used it can attract tax.
'Once your prize is in a bank account, any interest earned on your prize is subject to income tax for both you and any gift recipients,' The Lott advised.
A win may also affect other other sources of income.
'If you currently receive a social security benefit from Centrelink, your prize may affect your entitlement,' it says.
'This will be dependent on the amount of your prize and the current value of your assets.'
The Lott said told Channel Seven News the best course of action is to seek tailored individual financial advice.
The most common winning numbers are 17, 7, 11, 2, 3 and 9 it was revealed earlier this year
It was revealed earlier this year that most common winning numbers are 17, 7, 11, 2, 3 and 9.
However, those with the numbers 33, 15, 34, 31, 26 and 1 may not be as lucky; as they are less frequently drawn.
There were 20 Powerball division one winning entries taking home more than $552.15 million nationwide last year.
New South Wales had eight winners, while there were seven in Victoria, two each in South Australia and Western Australia but only one one in Queensland.
More than half of Powerball's division one winning entries were QuickPicks - which is when the machine selects randomly generated numbers in store or if purchasing online.
These winning entries were also selected as 'PowerHit', which means the player automatically draws the Powerball number required to win the division one prize.
