Is this a big win?

I was collecting up my won/loss statements for taxes.
I ran across this one.
I think it is my first positive one ever.

Quote: ALFERALFER

I was collecting up my won/loss statements for taxes.
I ran across this one.
I think it is my first positive one ever.

IRS now accepts these win/loss statements?

It's a big win to some. You may want to black out your account number. You never know.

Quote: 100xOdds

Quote: ALFERALFER

I was collecting up my won/loss statements for taxes.
I ran across this one.
I think it is my first positive one ever.

IRS now accepts these win/loss statements?

IRS doesnt really need these unless you have W2G's to report. I believe that is all the casinos report to them. Then again maybe this poster feels like he should report the $351 to the IRS, assuming he doesnt have other losses that offset these.

When I worked in the C-Store business years ago, we had a customer we saved all losing Instant Tickets played at the store for him to use to offset a large winner he had. I assume he listed the losses against his winning claim and had the tickets if the IRS ever audited him.

Yeah, since you have no W2-Gs you can easily not claim your net win last year and the IRS would have no idea. The government will happily accept taxes on a gambling win claim of any size, however.

Quote: Boz

Then again maybe this poster feels like he should report the $351 to the IRS, assuming he doesnt have other losses that offset these.

It would not be correct to only report the net of $351 to the IRS. Assuming this is the only play for the year, the individual must report the total winnings of $454 as Other Income (Line 21 of the 1040) and then deduct the loss of $103 on Schedule A for Itemized Deductions (Line 28 under Other Miscellaneous Deductions).

If the individual does not itemize, then he will not be able to deduct the losses--which means he will be paying taxes on the total wins before losses.

I think there are many players who assume it is only necessary to declare the "net" winnings when they file their taxes, but this is a mistake.

Even tringlomane mentions the "net win" in his post. It is also a mistake to believe that it is only necessary to show your wins and losses if you have a W2-G. The wins must still be declared even without a W2-G. It may be a true statement that the IRS would have no idea of your wins without the W2-G. But the same thing can be said about many other types of income where a W2 is not provided. That does not make it right.

Incidentally, I am not a CPA or Licensed Tax Preparer. But I have had to show my gambling income each year, so I speak from my own experience.

Congratulations on a net win for the year, by the way.

Jumbo, with all due respect, if you think all income like this is reported, you are living in Fantasyland. I understand how you say it should be reported, and maybe it is a moral issue, but lets face it. Income like this is only reported by a few. Assuming he didn't play elsewhere and actually had a winning year, I would assume he had another income and paid taxes on it and adding this would only hurt him. And if he didn't work all year, he would need to win more than this to qualify for the Earned Income Credit that rewards people for quitting a job 1/2 way through the year to avoid actually paying FIT.

If you not a professional gambler who needs to report some income to cover expenses, and don't have W2G's, the prevailing attitude is don't report it. Right or Wrong, until we have a National Sales Tax that covers income like this along with drug money, the true winners are those that cheat the IRS.

I wouldn't report it. I've won some money gambling some years(unfortunately most years are losses) and have never considered reporting it because its never been over 1200 in one big win. I don't report anything except my what's on my W2. I've made a killing on gold, inherited about 15 ounces 10 years ago, sat on it and am now slowly selling it off now to fund Vegas trips and Fun. I sold an ounce last year and didn't report it, and that was over 1700, cash transaction. About 4 years ago I had a company that sent me a check for 4k due to some unusual circumstances I don't want to get into. They wouldn't pay me till I gave them info so they can report and document the transaction. That I reported.

As a government employee I would never be on the record telling someone not to report income. That is all.

Edit: Meant for that to come off sarcastically, realized after it might have come off ominously. I work at the PTO and couldn't care less about the IRS.

Not asking you to be "On the record". But tell us how you really think.

I am very much aware that it is probably a small minority that reports their gambling activities to the IRS--and likely an even smaller minority that does it accurately.

I even saw a website that advertised their craps "system" in which they included assurances as to what you could expect to earn "tax free." They even "added" the amount of the taxes that you are not paying as a way to show an even greater increase in your expected return from the use of their system.

I would never hold myself out as an example of moral correctness. But I've been in the situation (fortunately) of not being able to "hide" my gambling income and also in the situation of being audited (unfortunately).

The primary purpose of my previous post was not to chastise anyone regarding whether they claim their winnings to the IRS--but merely to point out the correct way of doing so, provided they intend to file.

One of my pet peeves is the way the IRS treats the casual gambler. Many players end the year at a loss, and it does not seem right to expect those individuals to include their winnings before losses on the 1040--thereby resulting in an artificial increase of their Adjusted Gross Income (which has other negative ramifications on the tax return).

By the way, I have been trying to lose a little weight, but I was never so big as to be called Jumbo. (written jokingly)

I report all my cashes (regardless of size) in poker tournaments as many of them are easily looked up on the web. I also hang on to losing tournament buy-in receipts to report as losses.

Quote: ahiromu

Edit: Meant for that to come off sarcastically, realized after it might have come off ominously. I work at the PTO and couldn't care less about the IRS.

Really? What art unit? I send the PTO a lot of money every year. I'm reminded of this fact every March when I do my taxes...

I think it's kinda crazy that the state taxes the casino AND taxes the a player for a big win. Essentially they're taxes the same money twice..

Quote: MathExtremist

Really? What art unit? I send the PTO a lot of money every year. I'm reminded of this fact every March when I do my taxes...

I'm in 3700, work in furnaces and solar predominantly. We appreciate it, especially those renewal fees.

Quote: Jimbo

One of my pet peeves is the way the IRS treats the casual gambler. Many players end the year at a loss, and it does not seem right to expect those individuals to include their winnings before losses on the 1040--thereby resulting in an artificial increase of their Adjusted Gross Income (which has other negative ramifications on the tax return).

Understatement of the year right here. We need to form a Casual Gamblers PAC to combat the completely illogical treatment of gambling income by the IRS.

Quote: AcesAndEights

Understatement of the year right here. We need to form a Casual Gamblers PAC to combat the completely illogical treatment of gambling income by the IRS.
link to original post

Just found this old thread when searching for unanswered questions or misinformation about gambling taxes. So since I'm here....

The inequity is worse than you think. Here's my article, 8 reasons why gambling taxes are unfair.

If eliminating taxes on gambling ever gets to be seriously considered, I can picture the counter argument to your first point,

Quote:

1. Gambling wins aren’t really income.

The total of all Americans’ gambling activity each year is a loss for the players. That means there is no actual income to tax

Let's call it Devil's Advocate speaking here:

Though on net there is 'a loss for the players', some players will come out ahead and those people deserve to pay taxes.

how do you respond to that?

Good question!

I really don't think it matters, what matters is the net. There is simply no overall income to tax.

If it were truly fair to tax those who came out ahead, then to be truly fair we'd have to allow those who lost to deduct all their losses. But losses are limited. So, the government is taxing "winners" but severely limiting deductions for losers.

And I put "winners" in quotes, because the way they write the rules, you can be an overall loser for the year and still wind up owing tax.

As I said in my article, there are at least 9 different reasons that the current system is unfair. The easiest and fairest remedy is to just not tax gambling like many other countries. A less-good solution that would still be a giant step in the right direction would be to let players net yearly losses against yearly wins and report the difference. Right now you're forced to separate wins from losses and report each separately. With netting, most people won't have to report because they'll have a net loss for the year. And those who do have a net win would get credit for all their losses, they wouldn't be disallowed claiming losses because they're not itemizing.

Post Redacted due to PM.

Quote: odiousgambit

If eliminating taxes on gambling ever gets to be seriously considered, I can picture the counter argument to your first point,

Quote:

1. Gambling wins aren’t really income.

The total of all Americans’ gambling activity each year is a loss for the players. That means there is no actual income to tax

Let's call it Devil's Advocate speaking here:

Though on net there is 'a loss for the players', some players will come out ahead and those people deserve to pay taxes.

how do you respond to that?
link to original post

My response is that casinos and other operators should be taxed the same way individuals are - able to deduct up to 90% of losses, calculated on a daily, per table / per machine basis.

This will absolutely end sportsbooks that take bets before gameday, and will likely do bad things to slow churning progressive jackpots.

Wow, congratulations on your first plus, it's a really nice feeling. By the way, I've also been getting a little distracted by online games recently
between work, but the main thing is to stop in time and keep your balance.