slot jackpot not mine but IRS is after me for it

Quote: terrysm74062186

Good question. Think it would be simple enough to say hey it is not mine prove it is. Unless tax court is based on the theory you are guilty until proven innocent. Where this is crazy to me say the Casino sends in a w2g claiming I won 60000. This seems so crazy.

i say screw it. go to court. if they take you to court they have proof right? they probably will have everything within the discovery if they are building a case on you. once you receive all the documents you will see how much or whatever they have on you. and once you show your attorney the proof you have it shouldnt matter. the only loss is the money fighting this. which definitely sucks. its all a matter if you have the money to fight it though and if your are going to fight it for the lulz. otherwise tell them to suck it and not pay. then see what happens i guess. ive been taken to court for not paying stuff its no biggie. and you are most likely in a wayyy better position than i ever will be and seem like you can handle yourself.

I would think you might have a civil case against the casino.

Quote: heatmap

i say screw it. go to court. if they take you to court they have proof right? they probably will have everything within the discovery if they are building a case on you. once you receive all the documents you will see how much or whatever they have on you. and once you show your attorney the proof you have it shouldnt matter. the only loss is the money fighting this. which definitely sucks. its all a matter if you have the money to fight it though and if your are going to fight it for the lulz. otherwise tell them to suck it and not pay. then see what happens i guess. ive been taken to court for not paying stuff its no biggie. and you are most likely in a wayyy better position than i ever will be and seem like you can handle yourself.

This is wrong. The general rule in Tax Court is that the taxpayer has the burden of proof to show the IRS is incorrect except in specific circumstances. Do not just go to tax court without talking to a tax attorney.

Quote: MaxPen

I would think you might have a civil case against the casino.

Technically yes. But the 'damages' are so small, at most in the tens of thousands of dollars, that you won't find a lawyer to represent you on a contingency basis (my guess). If you think it is worth paying a lawyer an hourly rate I can't imagine the EV on that is positive(my guess).
If you think you have the skills to go at them yourself, go for it. I doubt that would be positive EV, either (my guess).

Quote: MaxPen

I would think you might have a civil case against the casino.

I like this idea. Sue the casino for the amount of the claimed jackpot since they never paid you for it and claim that they did.

Quote: DRich

I like this idea. Sue the casino for the amount of the claimed jackpot since they never paid you for it and claim that they did.

In a civil suit, the plaintiff has to prove damages. A letter from the IRS demanding payment is not damages; it's just a letter. Without an actual paid tax bill on this, damages are zero. Paying the IRS a tax bill that isn't yours in order to sue a casino doesn't seem like a good idea.

If you sue the casino claiming that they paid a jackpot to the wrong person, you would have to prove you were there and pressed the spin button yourself, but the staff paid someone else (clearly not what happened).

I really think you have a case for a civil suit.

The casino reported to the IRS they paid you a jackpot. That only happens in person.

You can prove you were 2000 miles away.

The casino has NO proof you ever signed or received a W2g or the money.

You don't owe the money. They have no proof you're guilty other than a second-hand efile, where there were a couple opportunities to make a typo on the SSN in processing, before transmitting it to the IRS.

I still say they put your SSN on someone else's w2g.

If the court process includes paying your legal fees when shown innocent, I would definitely get an attorney. Also definitely see if you can't get a free initial consultation and some idea of how to proceed. Also definitely not pay the IRS one cent.

One of these parties is NOT doing their job. Either the casino should audit themselves and find the actual document, or the IRS should be auditing them. I don't know which. But they are making THEIR problem YOUR problem, and at this point, they not only don't get the taxes, they owe you punitive damages for your many hours of time and distress.

All JMHO.

thanks for the information. imagine i will make these points to the IRS and when they stonewall me simply take it to tax court and spend a year or so waiting to get a hearing and tell the judge what I have told them and see what happens. not going to back off, they can kiss my ass.