[cedar_bluff_tree_farm]

Note to people looking at gambling in Vegas: Be sure not to cheat on your taxes!

The IRS requires that we report as taxable income all gambling winnings, regardless of dollar amount or if the payer reports them to the IRS. That means if we walk away from Las Vegas up $50, we have to report it and pay taxes on this amount.

How would the IRS find out if we "forget" by the time next April comes around? Easy for those who use a Players Card. It keeps track of all the winnings and losses for the player and the IRS can compare the information on the Players Card to the information on the individual tax return.

I suppose if you don't use a Players Card then it'd be hard to track. Maybe that's an incentive to not use a players card.

[mojavedxer]

I’m sure that the IRS has better things to do than sit through analyzing coin in/out comparative bet figures from the player tracking portion of the CMS DB. In the 20 years I have been working in the industry, I have yet to hear of the IRS even requesting a Win Loss statement from a patron.

[gtbguy]

Originally Posted by mojavedxer

I’m sure that the IRS has better things to do than sit through analyzing coin in/out comparative bet figures from the player tracking portion of the CMS DB. In the 20 years I have been working in the industry, I have yet to hear of the IRS even requesting a Win Loss statement from a patron.

Just remember these days just about EVERYTHING is computerized. I agree the IRS has lots of bigger fish to fry but with everything linked up by computer these records could all be tied together. I heard the IRS has hired lots of revenue agents becuase they know they aren't collecting taxes thought ought to be receiving. I belive the orignal poster is correct and don't take nothing for granted. BE CAREFUL!

[jjameson922]

Believe it happens. I was caught about 5 years ago not claiming a $5000 slot machine win. All the casinos I have ever played at send me a statement at income tax time and I'd better be claiming the same numbers they are.

[XFILESMULDER]

Originally Posted by cedar_bluff_tree_farm

Note to people looking at gambling in Vegas: Be sure not to cheat on your taxes!

The IRS requires that we report as taxable income all gambling winnings, regardless of dollar amount or if the payer reports them to the IRS. That means if we walk away from Las Vegas up $50, we have to report it and pay taxes on this amount.

How would the IRS find out if we "forget" by the time next April comes around? Easy for those who use a Players Card. It keeps track of all the winnings and losses for the player and the IRS can compare the information on the Players Card to the information on the individual tax return.

I suppose if you don't use a Players Card then it'd be hard to track. Maybe that's an incentive to not use a players card.

Reporting gambling winnings





This states you can have up to 3000 dollars in casino winnings before the IRS takes its bite.

[cedar_bluff_tree_farm]

Originally Posted by XFILESMULDER

Reporting gambling winnings

This states you can have up to 3000 dollars in casino winnings before the IRS takes its bite.

You might want to take a closer look. It says

"The casino, track or lottery agent might not have reported that $25 you won, but it's still taxable income. It's ultimately the taxpayer's responsibility to tell Uncle Sam about his good fortune."

The $3000 example that you saw was assuming you won $3000 and also lost $3000. But the tax law says all gambling winnings are taxable.

[olecapt]

Some of this is...on its face....absurd. In a night of video poler one might easily "win" $5,000 or $10,000. One also generally loses a little more than you win.

So to the IRS rules you have to file for $10,000 in income than deduct the $10,000 in losses.

The general rule of ignoring the whole thing unless you break the reporting barrier would appear rational.

Once however the W2G is filed you need to cover it with the appropriate losses if you have them. Most do.

[jdljr]

Originally Posted by olecapt

Once however the W2G is filed you need to cover it with the appropriate losses if you have them. Most do.

If you CAN. Not everyone can. I won $3,000 in LV last year, claimed it on my 2008 taxes earlier this year, but could not offset it with losses because I don't itemize. I don't own a home so I have no reason to itemize; the standard deduction far exceeds any itemizations I could come up with.

What burned me up more than paying my taxes to the feds was paying taxes to my state for this win in LV! The money was not earned in NC, however the win was figured into the gross federal adjusted income, so thus it carried over to my state taxes. I believe there should be a way to exclude money not earned in NC from the tax form, but there was no way.

[yellowsnow]

What's the magic $1199.00 thing? I thought anything over that amount was reportable and below wasn't. Did it change?

[cedar_bluff_tree_farm]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

What's the magic $1199.00 thing? I thought anything over that amount was reportable and below wasn't. Did it change?

The casino is required to report to the IRS winnings above $1200. But the tax law says that all winnings are taxable, regardless of whether the casino reports them or not.

The thing is, when a person uses a players card and plays slots for example, all the winnings and losses are recorded by the casino's system. So if the IRS wanted to, they could subponea a win/loss statement from the casino and nail a gambler who "forgets" to pay taxes on non-reportable winnings.