this may sound stupid but i need legit help

Canada's winnings are also tax free on all lotteries and gambling wins.

Quote: jeffwarren75

I play video blackjack in florida and signed for over 1 million in jackpots this year, unfortunately everytime you bet 500 a hand and either double or get blackjack it is a taxable jackpot, my win lose statement shows only a small win of 12k but i kept no other records, is there anything I can do or am I going to get slaughtered on taxes

If you actually won then pay the taxes on the 12k. If you have losses to offset your 12k in winnings, then report them. There's nothing to fear unless you plan to cheat the government out of its share. They hate that.

Be careful about 'making up' a gambling journal, the IRS does this
for a living and they can spot a journal that was made after the
fact. People do this all the, make up journals to pad expense
accounts and such.

Quote: s2dbaker

If you actually won then pay the taxes on the 12k. If you have losses to offset your 12k in winnings, then report them. There's nothing to fear unless you plan to cheat the government out of its share. They hate that.

The IRS really likes to screw with gamblers because most
of them wildly misreport their winnings. They have agents that
just deal with people who report gambling wins and losses
and they've seen every trick in the book. The last thing you
want to get is a forensic asset audit, they're brutal. I know
a guy that got one and he said it was amazing how close they
came to the actual amount he made that year.

The IRS has the same access to information that you have. An audit would be in place if things looked really out of whack. For gambling, I think that the fraud rate is very high and the IRS probably allocates a disproportional amount of auditors to this activity.

At the same time, all accountants, including the IRS would include a reasonability test. They realize that a bunch of small jackpots represents a compulsive gambler who is probably not making much at all. However, the burden of proof is on you. You've got a couple of things going for you:

The W2Gs are all from one casino (not many), and the Win-Loss statement is available that shows you earned only 12K. Despite the fact that you are making up a journal, it would still represent an accurate depiction of your gambling activities for the year. Support that with withdrawals and deposits to your bank account and I think you're probably in good shape, even if the auditors come a knocking.

For what it's worth, I would actually go out and hire an accountant to do your tax return and make them your representative.

I'm up in Canada. My wife operates her own business, but she keeps *terrible* records. Basically, when I put the taxes together, I've got to apply reasonableness to every figure that I put on the tax return. If you are being "reasonable" then you probably won't get audited.

Quote: EvenBob

The IRS really likes to screw with gamblers because most
of them wildly misreport their winnings. They have agents that
just deal with people who report gambling wins and losses
and they've seen every trick in the book. The last thing you
want to get is a forensic asset audit, they're brutal. I know
a guy that got one and he said it was amazing how close they
came to the actual amount he made that year.

Heh. I highly, highly doubt this. I know people who work for the service and they are overworked as it is. The gambling wins/losses is not a big part of their enforcement. Unless it is a major part of your income, they will not look twice. I got $6,000 in W2-G's last year, $4,000 this year. I just cancel them out with losses. It's not going to increase my tax liability one iota either way.

Quote: teddys

Heh. I highly, highly doubt this. I know people who work for the service and they are overworked as it is. The gambling wins/losses is not a big part of their enforcement.

Its a very small part. But the people who handle it
know what they're doing and messing with them is
to be avoided if possible.