Win/Loss Statement?
Quote: 1BBYou should be able to get win/loss statements online.
THE EVIL EMPIRE has your win/loss statements on total rewards site log on look on the left side
MY TR
MY OFFERS
PROFILE
RESERVATIONS
PRICE ALERTS
WIN/LOSS STATEMENT
TR STATEMENT
CASINO CREDIT
but as the fine folks will tell you they are not accepted by the taxman for showing your wins losses
you were suppose to keep DETAILED notes of all your gambling for the taxman to review should they ask for it
Quote: coilmanTHE EVIL EMPIRE has your win/loss statements on total rewards site log on look on the left side
MY TR
MY OFFERS
PROFILE
RESERVATIONS
PRICE ALERTS
WIN/LOSS STATEMENT
TR STATEMENT
CASINO CREDIT
but as the fine folks will tell you they are not accepted by the taxman for showing your wins losses
you were suppose to keep DETAILED notes of all your gambling for the taxman to review should they ask for it
You can see win loss statements online, or get win/loss statements sometime next year, for this year, from 'most' establishments. An interesting topic. I would suggest a different thread title, something like 'tax help for casino winners'. I would like to watch the posts unfold, and would add some info myself as I have had to deal we the subject in depth ( and painfully ). Just a suggestion. 2F
Edit: that resulted in sounding wrong. I am a lifetime loser in casino play, but I have to spend a lot of time and effort documenting it because on rare occasions I actually win ;-) PITA was a term I learned here earlier ;-)
Quote: GWAEIt is not as clear cut as that. You must itemize in order to deduct loses. Even when you itemize you still end up paying taxes on the money up to the standard deductions. I made this mistake a fee years back when I didn't think I would owe and I was unable to itemize.
Sorry, but I don't understand the "you still end up paying taxes on the money up to the standard deductions" part of that statement. Sometimes I'm slower than other times ;-)
Quote: HotBlondeSo I was just curious... I received two W-2 forms during my last two Vegas trips due to a $3,125 win each time. I was told I have to file it with my taxes and I was bummed about it until someone said that my losses could offset any taxes I would have to pay on it. How does all that work? And do I have to go to every single casino I gambled at and get paperwork? I unfortunately lost a lot of money this year.
No idea if you usually file a schedule A, itemizing your deductions, but to claim gambling losses, you will have to. However, 6250 is close enough to the standard deduction that it's likely you can make up the difference and itemize, even if you don't have a mortgage.
I would suggest you go back through your credit card statements and other records showing when you were in LV or gambling other places. ATM withdrawal slips at or near casinos can work really well, as can checks cashed at the cage, as evidence of money you spent there. Make as accurate a log as you can of the days you played, what casinos, what games; you put some detail into your thread from May about what you were playing, so maybe that would help you create the log.
This is all stuff you have to keep on hand in case of an audit, not stuff you have to provide with your filing. However, you'll need to provide a worksheet listing your losses on particular days that will go into your 1040 filing. Keep in mind you only have to/can provide enough losses to offset your win; you can't declare a net loss.
It would also be a good idea to get statements from the main places you played; you may well get enough in losses from them to do the whole offset. But any documentation helps, if it's needed at all.
Is it ok to create a log after the fact?Quote: beachbumbabsMake as accurate a log as you can of the days you played, what casinos, what games; you put some detail into your thread from May about what you were playing, so maybe that would help you create the log.
Quote: AxelWolfIs it ok to create a log after the fact?
If it's accurate, why not? Never heard of there being a deadline as to when you gotta create a gambling log.
Quote: RSIf it's accurate, why not? Never heard of there being a deadline as to when you gotta create a gambling log.
IRS guidance docs and case law all require that the log be contemporaneous...
IANAL, nor a tax professional, but I recommend that any valid supporting documentation be collected in case of an audit. And I recommend against creating/forging a contemporaneous log.
-TX
If for some reason you get audited, the IRS probably will have the option to dismiss as accurate anything anyone has as a record except for those few who are truly anal about it. You just have to hope you don't wind up in that fix. I too would not recommend faking something.
Hopefully you are not in a position to get screwed by these W-2s in other ways. It inflates your gross income declaration even when you can write off by losses. This is bad for Social Security recipients for example.
Personally, I avoid types of gambling that would bring on W-2s. Say hello to table games and goodbye to slots etc.
Quote: vegas click linkYou never get a W2-G for playing table games. It's only for slots, races, and keno. However, if you buy or cash more than $10,000 in chips in one day, the casino will do a CTR (Cash Transaction Report) form for the IRS.
https://easy.vegas/gambling/taxes
Quote: RSIf it's accurate, why not? Never heard of there being a deadline as to when you gotta create a gambling log.
Accuracy, or at least the appearance of accuracy, is the key. For the recreational player it would be best to have notes about loses thru the year that were written at the time they were incurred. Having bank records of withdrawals for trip /session expenses, credit/debit card or cash receipts, resorts billing records, anything that coincides with entries into the 'log' adds to that appearance of accuracy. But a log can be assembled at any time as long as it winds up being deemed acceptable evidence by those who make that determination and that isn't you! Of course this only becomes relevant in case of an audit by tax authorities. Actually you could just report your winnings and not deduct your losses, but why would anyone want to?
I would think that anyone that takes their play even halfway seriously would want a record of how they did over the course of a year just to see how their 'entertainment' has effected their personal finances. But many don't. That's unfortunate when a big win, or several, generate reports to the IRS of income, and they don't really have to be that 'big'. Without believable records to use losses to offset, or at least partially offset, winnings the player can wind up paying more in tax liabilities than necessary. Needless to say, tax filings that are deemed to be incorrect or fraudulent after the fact can get quite expensive in "penalties".
Proceed with caution.
Quote: HotBlondeSo I was just curious... I received two W-2 forms during my last two Vegas trips due to a $3,125 win each time. I was told I have to file it with my taxes and I was bummed about it until someone said that my losses could offset any taxes I would have to pay on it. How does all that work? And do I have to go to every single casino I gambled at and get paperwork? I unfortunately lost a lot of money this year.
for anything less than $9999 total in w2-g, I would gamble and just write it off w/o any documentation to back it up.
it is very unlikely the irs will audit you for that if theres nothing else wrong w/your return.
to make it even more unlikely, file an extension and file on oct 15,2016 for tax year 2015.
