When you file your taxes, you’ll report your gambling winnings as “Other Income” when you file with 1040.com. By law, gambling winners must report all of their winnings on their federal income tax returns. Depending on the amount of your winnings, you may receive one or more Form W-2G, which reports the amount of your winnings and the amount of tax that was withheld, if any. “Gambling winnings are fully taxable and you must report the income on your tax return. Gambling includes but isn’t limited to winnings from lotteries, raffles, horse races, and casinos. It includes cash winnings and the fair market value of prizes, such as cars and trips.” IRS is more focused on wins than losses.
- Gambling Winnings Report To Irs
- Gambling Winnings Report To Irs Fraud
- Gambling Winnings Report To Irs Filing
- Gambling Winnings Report To Irs Refund
Inrecent times, the number of people who travel to gambling centers orregions where gambling is a lucrative business is on the high side.Reno and some cities of Las Vegas welcome several travelers for thispurpose.
Justso you know, if you win big while gambling, you do not get to keepevery cent to yourself. Now someone is asking, why? Well, gamblingwinnings are taxable! …it’s as simple as that!
So,just before you embark on any journey for the sole aim of gambling,take some lessons on tax laws relating to gambling and be sure tounderstand every piece of information you find therein just so youavoid the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and its stress.
A little explanation of why gambling income is taxable.
Now,you’ll ask … “is gambling income taxable?” well, don’tstress it, the answer is not far- fetched!
Yes!Gambling income is taxable and just before the smiles on your facedisappears into thin air, there is good news for you as an earner…hang in there!
Unlikenormal income taxes, taxes placed on gambling are constant. That is,not progressive.
So,you have nothing to worry about. Be it winning a $3 million at thepoker table or $1500 at the slot machine. So, when you hit a big one,25% of your big win is to go to whichever game you play.
Plus,you will be provided with an IRS form which is also known as a W2-Gto enable you to report your earnings and winnings to the government.Keep in mind that this threshold depends on the type of game.
Anothersuitable question to ask is this, “do these games report theirgambling earnings? Definitely!
Aquick look at some examples; for specificity, in the casino, in orderfor your winnings to be reported, there is one inevitable thresholdthat should be declined.
Anotherexample is the slot machines; for winnings above $1200, it isrequired of you to report them.
Forthat of horse tracks, winnings that are greater than $600 or that are300 times your initial wager must be reported.
Thecase is not different for bingo as it is similar to the slot machine.Every winning from $1200 should be reported.
Thepoker tournament is no different as every winnings Greater than $5000must be reported.
Inspite of all these, it is not required of Casinos to hold taxes orissue a W2-G that was mentioned earlier in this article to playerswho win big amounts at some table games. For example, roulette,blackjack, craps.
Thereason for this kind of segregated requirement made by the IRS isunknown to us perhaps but known to them.
Froma well-observed point of view, in the table games, a level of skillis required whereas the slot machines are merely a game of chance.So, it is not expected of casinos to ascertain for sure the amountyou begin with when you cash in your chips from a table game.
Nowyou ask, “What happens when a W2-G is not sent to me or whathappens when I do not get a notification? Your question might also beasked in this form… What happens if my taxes are being withheldfrom blackjack winnings?
Beforeyou raise your hands high in the air while smiling thinking you canoutsmart all these, just a gentle reminder, not receiving a W2-G formor having withheld taxes does not relieve you of your duties toreport whatever is been won to the IRS.
Thenext question that should readily come to mind is “what should Ido in cases like this?” It’s simple! Do it yourself! You willsave yourself a whole lot of mess by filing your taxes alongside yourother taxes for the year rather than at the casino where you claimyour winnings.
Now,someone is saying, “oh! I’m a professional gambler, gambling iswhat I do for a living, mine is quite different, how do I report mytax?”
Ifgambling happens to be your real profession then, your revenue willbe tagged as regular earned income hence, it will be taxed at thenormal effective income tax rate of a taxpayer.
Keepin mind that your income and expenses compulsorily must be recordedon Schedule C, if you are self-employed.
Hereis a poser. Ever wondered if individual states tax gambling winnings?Well, to answer the poser, certainly, they do.
Insome states, it is required of gambling winners to claim theirwinnings in the state where they were won irrespective of your placeof domicile. Also, your state of residence will require you to reportyour winnings but, at the same time give a deduction for the taxesthat have already been paid in the non- resident state.
Seemslike we are missing out on something really important which happensto be our big question for this article.
Everthought of what will happen if you do not report your gamblingwinnings? Well, enough of the rambles and mumbles as your eye-rollinghas confirmed the answer. Well, we know it’s a “No” simplybecause when that thought crossed your mind, you waved it off withthe back of your hands.
Gambling Winnings Report To Irs
But,guess what? Dust your rackets as we will be hitting off some balls ofquestions as regards that.
Itis quite easy to shrug off the idea of reporting your gamblingearnings whenever that thought creeps into mind because we all wantto enjoy our bucks without any external force trying to snatch itfrom us.
Sosad! Now might not be a perfect time to let that slide as you do notwant to get involved with the IRS. Bet it could get messier thanimagined.
Aswe all know that the most difficult thing in the world to understand,as stated by Albert Einstein, is the concept of income taxes.
However,it is pertinent that you report the full amount of your gamblingwinnings as “other income” on line 21 of form 1040 asstated by the IRS. Also, you must distinctly claim your allowablegambling losses.
Itis unknown to many that the IRS does not permit reducing or netting,gambling winnings by gambling losses and just reporting thedifference. Well, it is considered that such a person owes the IRSback taxes, interest and penalties.
Justso you know, gambling losses up to your winnings must be claimed asan itemized deduction on Schedule A, under the heading “othermiscellaneous deductions”. Where the problem lies is that asidesnetting, there are more than 65% of taxpayers who don’t itemize theirdeductions and can’t deduct gambling losses pay more tax on grosswinnings than they won.
Besides,losses accumulated from gambling cannot be moved forward tocounterbalance winnings in another year.
Incase you haven’t heard, the IRS takes a hard line on gambling income.Hence, in an audit, without providing enough documentation, the agentwill fail to believe you’re losing all winnings. That is, you musthave sufficient documentation to prove your loss so, keep your losingtickets alongside all other important documents you’ve got.
Whatwill a proper record-keeping require of you?
Aproper record-keeping will require a date, the type of gamblingactivity or wager, the name of the gambling establishment, theaddress of the gambling business and the number, list of peoplepresent with you plus the inevitable, amount won or lost.
Insome cases, it will be of utmost importance for you to keepsupplements hotel bills, gas cards, and airline tickets just to provethat they were not part of ATM gambling funds.
Sometimes,the IRS fails to take into consideration the credibility of the ATMreceipts forgetting that the ATM cash receipt could have been used topurchase the nondeductible like cinema bills, spa treatment, salon,restaurant meals.
So,we urge you to input all the ATM funds received to fund the gamblingsessions as evidence for your gambling records.
Keepin mind that the IRS kicks against the player’s reward card as it ismost times an ingenuine way to prove gambling loses because othergamblers have used the card.
Youridentity and evidence that you were the only one using the cardshould all be in your gambling records.
Yourgambling log is being supported and given credibility by document andwin-loss reports. So, put your journal to substantiate the player’scard at every gamble.
Inconclusion, we urge you to be careful just in case because manystatements do not provide substantiative evidence simply becauseestimates are being used. Also, do not hesitate to report every ofyour gambling winnings.
Cheers!
What is a Form W-2G
When most people think about their income, they think about their paychecks, their net business profit, their pension or social security income—the money they’ve worked for and count on every month to pay their bills and cover their expenses. However, not all income is the product of hard work or financial planning, and sometimes a taxpayer can generate income with the flip of a card or the roll of the dice. Lucky lottery players and casino goers likely don’t think about the tax consequences of winning big, but after crossing a certain earnings threshold, those winnings are treated as taxable income.
IRS Form W-2G is issued by a casino or payer to taxpayers who have earned above a specific threshold to report gambling winnings. A payer may also send an IRS Form W-2G if it withholds a portion of your winnings for federal income tax purposes.
Do I have to report my gambling winnings to the IRS?
The IRS treats gambling winnings as taxable income, which must be reported on a tax return. In order to keep track of taxpayer’s gambling winnings, the IRS requires the paying entity (such as the state lotto commission, the casino, or the racing track) to report winnings over a certain threshold.
If a taxpayer wins more than:
Gambling Winnings Report To Irs Fraud
- $1,200 from a slot machine or bingo game,
- $1,500 of proceeds from keno,
- $5,000 of proceeds from a poker tournament,
- $600 of winnings from any other game where payout is more than 300 times the wager,
- or any other winnings subject to tax withholding,
then he or she can expect to be required to provide identifying information which allows the paying entity to issue an IRS Form W2G.
Form W-2G Instructions
Form W-2G will request that the taxpayer provide the following information:
- The amount of gross winnings
- The date the winnings were won
- The type of wager that was made
- The amount of federal and state income tax already withheld
When filing his or her tax return, the taxpayer will need to add up all IRS Form W-2Gs received in that year, along with any smaller gambling winnings that may not have triggered an IRS Form W-2G requirement. The taxpayer will also be required to include those earnings as “Other Income” on the first page of his or her IRS Form 1040 return.
Even if you don’t receive a W-2G in the mail before tax season rolls around, you will still be legally obligated to report your earnings on your year-end tax return. Keeping careful track of all of your financial documents, such as wager statements, payment slips, and other gambling receipts, will ensure that you’re able to accurately report your earnings come tax time.
Are gambling losses tax deductible?
Gambling Winnings Report To Irs Filing
Maybe you enjoy gambling, but you’re not always so lucky with your winnings—there is one bit of good news for you. Although you can’t report your net winnings, you can report your gambling losses as an itemized deduction on Schedule A. However, there’s a catch: losses can only be deducted up to the amount of gambling winnings in a given year.
Gambling Winnings Report To Irs Refund
For example, if a taxpayer spends $500 at the casino, and wins $5,000, he or she will only have to pay taxes on the $4,500 of profit, as long as he or she has proof of the $500 spent. On the contrary, if a taxpayer spent $5,000, and only won $500, there will be no extra tax imposed on the gambling winnings, although the extra $4,500 of loss cannot be used to offset any other non-gambling winnings.
Do keep in mind that the IRS will only accept proof if they believe that the taxpayer him or herself actually suffered the losses—IRS rulings have refused to allow loss deductions based on tickets covered in dirt and footprints, as though they had been collected from the ground after another unlucky gambler had dropped them there.
How much tax is already withheld from gambling winnings?
Gambling facilities have the power to withhold part of your winnings for federal tax purposes, however this power depends on the type of gambling activity participated in and the amount of money won. On IRS Form W-2G, the amount already withheld can be found is noted in Box 4, and state and local tax withholdings are noted in Boxes 15 and 17.
To date, there are two types of withholding for winnings from gambling: regular withholding and backup withholding.
Regular Withholding: The payer withholds 25% of your winnings on cash payments where the winnings minus the wager totals to $5,000 or more.
This applies to winnings from:
- Wagering pools
- Sweepstakes
- Lotteries
- Other wagers (if the winnings total at least 3,000 times the amount of the wager)
Note that regular withholding only applies to non-state lotteries, sweepstakes, and wagering pools, and that the withholding rate rises to 33.33% for non-cash winnings.
Backup Withholding: The payer withholds 28% of your winnings earned from keno, bingo, slot machines, and poker tournaments. This typically only applies when winnings total to:
- At least $600 and at least 300 times the original wager,
- At least $1,200 from bingo or slot machines,
- $1,500 from keno,
- $5,000 from a poker tournament.
Taxpayers may also see their gambling winnings subject to backup withholding if they fail to provide the correct taxpayer identification number to the payer.
Community Tax can assist with your IRS Help and gambling winnings. Contact Community Tax today for a free consultation: (844) 247-2781