Gambling winnings Tax question(s)

[applejax]

you can deduct gambling losses to the extent of gambling winnings, but it's an itemized deduction, so you have to be able to use Schedule A to receive any tax relief.

and yes, you can use losses from all legal gambling activities to offset those winnings. You don't necessarily need losing tickets, a profit / loss statement from a casino or track or some organization that tracks your play will also suffice

willie, define legal
Is betting on sports ONLINE legal?
What if you report 25K in winnings and you had 20K in losses if you login to your sportsbook accounts and make a copy of your wager history(has date, wager, wo and lost, and the amount) would that be good enough to prove your losses?
Cant they say online sports betting is illegal and so you cant deduct your losses which means you have to pay taxes on 25K??

 

[applejax]

why am i on moderator post review?

 

[Murphy8276]

why am i on moderator post review?

you signed up with another account before this one.. why did u sign up a 2nd account? mg63

You have the same IP address as that poster (they have never posted) but same registration point :think2:

-murph

 

[applejax]

you can close mg63, i forgot password

 

[Murphy8276]

you can close mg63, i forgot password

ok very well... Next time please use the forgot pwd feature and one will be emailed to you or you can always pm a mod or ask for help and we can have one sent to you as well.

I will take you off Post Review but please behave as anyone normally would be expected to

-murph

 

[SoCal]

do not send in anything they don't ask for

send in your amended return claiming your gambling losses with a copy of the notice they attached. Send your return to the address on the notice

if audited, this is only a computer matching issue at this point, if audited let me know or contact another tax professional. knowing how to present your case is very important, and sometimes taxpayers fuck themselves with their responses

Thanks man. I talked with the IRS this AM before reading your reply and they said the same thing as your post. Hopefully I don't get audited, but if I do - I have some logs of my gameplay to send in. They actually didn't catch one of the jackpots on the letter that they sent to me. What i will do is file a 1040x amendment along with a schedule A along with the letter they sent me. I will include the extra w2g they missed. No sense in assuming it will remain missed on their side... eventually it will pop up and I will be back to square one if I do not report it. Thanks again

 

[SoCal]

you can deduct gambling losses to the extent of gambling winnings, but it's an itemized deduction, so you have to be able to use Schedule A to receive any tax relief.

and yes, you can use losses from all legal gambling activities to offset those winnings. You don't necessarily need losing tickets, a profit / loss statement from a casino or track or some organization that tracks your play will also suffice

I have a P/L statement from the 5 casinos I played at in 2011. In addition, the casino I play at the most provided me with some additional detail... at my request, they ran a report showing the dates, times, money in, money out - for each gambling session for both 2011 and 2012. I have contacted the audit dept. at a few of the other casinos and asked for that type of detail, but they have not replied yet. I am lucky to have gotten it from my main place of play. Additionally, I have the serial numbers of the machines I played at and table numbers for the Black Jack Tables. This all provides a nice basis for a gambling journal if I get audited by the IRS about my losses. Like I said in my first post though... everything I am claiming is legit. If they audit me and overrule somehow, it is total bullshit. They will have collected double tax if they overrule my losses. Hope it doesn't ever get to that pt.

 

[Recon792]

socal - -any video poker tips ??

 

[SoCal]

This

........or simply one'e own diary.

Losing tickets or win/loss statements are not required, but they can be used.


An accurrate diary is the absolute best approach, one I've used for close to 20 years.


Total wins on LINE 21..............total losses on Schedule A..............it all really is quite easy.

Good advice. I have 25k worth of w2gs for this past year - once again from video poker. My journal could be better than it is right now, but this appears to be the way to go to to defend losses. Hope I don't have to submit my info... but at least I have something to work with.

 

[SoCal]

socal - -any video poker tips ??

haha. Dude.. I always walked past those machines. I always played blackjack. I am not sure what drove me to sit down that first time in 2011. I was playing a row of machines $1 denom and hit 4 deuces for a 1K payout. I was about to leave and I saw a different machine that paid 2.5k for the same 4 deuces... it is a VP game called "loose deuces". So I cursed myself for not exploring all the machines and finding the best game - then I sat down at that one. It took about 45 minutes but I nailed the 2.5k 4 deuces jackpot... and along with it my first ever w2g.

From there the VP gambling Gods just smiled on me. I went on to hit 2 royals within a few weeks at 4k a pop playing double double bonus.

the only tip I can give is to find a machine that will pay you 45 for a full house. Don't play the machines that only pay 40... keep looking. In the long run the paytables give you an edge.

My most hit jackpot is 4 aces with a kicker. I like games that pay 2k or more for that hand. And finally... when the going gets bad... go home. If I lose 1k, that usually an indication that things will get worse if I stay. generally I will go on a run before losing 1k. and if I choose to stay after 1k of losses, it generally just gets worse.

my 2 cents

 

[applejax]

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/tax-deductions-set-off-alarms/story?id=16134151#.UOyAKEMr2dA
[h=1]7 Tax Deductions That Set Off Alarms[/h]

 

[Recon792]

haha. Dude.. I always walked past those machines. I always played blackjack. I am not sure what drove me to sit down that first time in 2011. I was playing a row of machines $1 denom and hit 4 deuces for a 1K payout. I was about to leave and I saw a different machine that paid 2.5k for the same 4 deuces... it is a VP game called "loose deuces". So I cursed myself for not exploring all the machines and finding the best game - then I sat down at that one. It took about 45 minutes but I nailed the 2.5k 4 deuces jackpot... and along with it my first ever w2g.

From there the VP gambling Gods just smiled on me. I went on to hit 2 royals within a few weeks at 4k a pop playing double double bonus.

the only tip I can give is to find a machine that will pay you 45 for a full house. Don't play the machines that only pay 40... keep looking. In the long run the paytables give you an edge.

My most hit jackpot is 4 aces with a kicker. I like games that pay 2k or more for that hand. And finally... when the going gets bad... go home. If I lose 1k, that usually an indication that things will get worse if I stay. generally I will go on a run before losing 1k. and if I choose to stay after 1k of losses, it generally just gets worse.

my 2 cents

thanks socal -- still waiting for my first Royal or 5 of a kind --

 

[Fishhead]

There are locals here in Vegas who have hundreds of signings per year ranging into the millions.............easy to do when one is playing high denomination mutli-play machines 8 hours a day.

 

[Recon792]

any more video poker tips guys???

 

[Willye]

I never understand this i never file my horse racing winnings because i have lost so much more, last year they sent me a notice to pay .... On a few signers, i just sent them my w/l report from the racetrack and havent heard from them since

 

[SoCal]

There are locals here in Vegas who have hundreds of signings per year ranging into the millions.............easy to do when one is playing high denomination mutli-play machines 8 hours a day.

I believe it. VP has been kinder to me in 1.5 yrs than 20 yrs of blackjack. Like any form of gambling, it requires discipline. I think Fishhead has this down cold. Keeping a journal is the best tip anyone could take. Dealing with w2g forms at the end of the year is daunting.

 

[SoCal]

any more video poker tips guys???

Gamble what you can afford to lose. Pick a denom that fits your roll. Stay away from the higher juice games (like super times pay). Always play 5 coins. and look for the best paytables.

My game is DDB, double double bonus. There is nothing worse than playing JOB and hitting aces for $125 when on DDB it's potentially 2k, minimum $800. I sometimes try TDB looking for a 4k payout on 4 aces, but I bail out pretty quickly. Paytable on that game will drain your roll if you go on a dry spell.

 

[Betallsports]

When playing table games never had a problem with taxes...

Guess I will find out all about this, this year. since I will have to pay taxes on my Hilton Hit last year. $27K+
have about $4k-$5K of losing tickets ... maybe I should contact my Host and see if she can send me my loses to add to it.

Going rate on tax winnings is something like 26% ???

 

[Iutoffee]

willie, define legal
Is betting on sports ONLINE legal?
What if you report 25K in winnings and you had 20K in losses if you login to your sportsbook accounts and make a copy of your wager history(has date, wager, wo and lost, and the amount) would that be good enough to prove your losses?
Cant they say online sports betting is illegal and so you cant deduct your losses which means you have to pay taxes on 25K??

Any clarification on this Willie?

 

[RenoChazz]

Any clarification on this Willie?

Betting offshore is illegal in the US but you still claim it the same way like Fishhead has said A: total winnings B: total losses a-b = taxable income. Keep a journal of this especially if it's offshore. It's not illegal to claim illegal losses against illegal winnings.