Amount of your gambling winnings and losses. Any information provided to you on a Form W-2G. The tool is designed for taxpayers who were U.S. Citizens or resident aliens for the entire tax year for which they're inquiring. If married, the spouse must also have been a U.S. Citizen or resident alien for the entire tax year. You can win a lot of money gambling in the United States. Of course, that means you’re also subjected to a casino winnings tax. If you’ve made a trip to the U.S. And your gaming winnings are high enough or you win a prize and take the cash equivalent, the IRS will deduct 30% off of your winnings. All gambling winnings are taxable income—that is, income subject to both federal and state income taxes (except for the seven states that have no income taxes). It makes no difference how you earn your winnings-whether at a casino, gambling website, church raffle, or your friendly neighborhood poker game. US Tax Recovery is a withholding tax recovery service that specializes in casino tax recovery on behalf of Canadians and other non-US citizens. Each year, millions of visitors to the United States win money in legal casinos, and find themselves having to pay a 30% withholding tax on these winnings.
The upside of having to pay taxes? It means you make enough money to have Uncle Sam want a cut. Congratulations!
The Internal Revenue Service sets a minimum income on which it will collect taxes. Unfortunately, it’s not a simple one-size-fits-all threshold. In general, how much you can make in a year before you face a tax bill depends on a few factors: your filing status, your age, and whether you’re being claimed as a dependent.
How Much Do You Have to Make to Owe Taxes?
If you’re not a dependent, here’s a cheat sheet for you. If your gross income is equal to or more than what’s listed in the table below, based on 2019 requirements, you’d need to file a tax return. (You can use the I.R.S.'s interactive tool to find out if you should file taxes. For state filings, TurboTax offers a list of states’ requirements; but, generally, if you file a federal return, you should also file a state return.)
Filing Status | Under Age 65 | Age 65 and Older |
Single | $12,200 | $13,850 |
Married, filing jointly | If both spouses are under age 65: $24,400 | If one spouse is 65+: $25,700 If both spouses are 65+: $27,000 |
Married, filing separately | $5 | $5 |
Head of Household | $18,350 | $20,000 |
Qualifying Widow(er) | $24,400 | $25,700 |
The thresholds for dependents are based on the amount of your earned income, unearned income and gross income, as well as whether you’re married or single and blind or not. Note, too, that there are a number of special situations—other than being a dependent—that may require you to file a return, even if your income is less than the minimums. For example, if you’re self-employed and make just $400 or more, you have to file taxes.
You can use the Interactive Tax Assistant tool at www.irs.gov to figure out if you’re in one of those special situations and whether you need to file a return. You just have to answer a bunch of questions—mainly about your relationship and income—all of which the site estimates will take 12 minutes to answer.
How To Get Money Back From Gambling Taxes Without
Back up. What exactly is gross income?
It’s all the money you’ve made in the tax year. For most people, that mainly includes earned income from your salary, wages, tips or bonuses. It also includes unearned income, like dividends and accrued interest, as well as any gambling winnings. It does not include tax-exempt income, such as child support payments, most alimony payments, workers’ comp, and more.
Gross income should not be confused with your adjusted gross income (AGI) or your taxable income. You can determine your AGI by taking your gross income and subtracting certain deductions, including contributions to a traditional IRA, 401(k) and other qualified retirement plans, interest paid on student loans and contributions to a health savings account. Taxable income is your AGI minus your standard deduction or any itemized deductions you claim. (You cannot claim both the standard and itemized deductions. Post-tax reform, most people are better off taking the standard deduction, which for the 2019 filing year goes up to $12,200 for single filers and $24,400 for joint filers.)
So if my gross income falls below those minimums, I don’t have to file a tax return? Correct. But it might be a good idea to file anyway. That’s because you may qualify for certain tax credits and get a little extra cash from Uncle Sam, even if you owe nothing.
What tax credits are available to me?
If you owe little to no taxes, you should focus on tax credits that are refundable. That means you’ll be able to cash them in even if they’re greater than what you owe. Most tax credits are non-refundable, meaning they can reduce your tax bill, but won’t pay you anything extra. So, if you owe $300 in taxes, and you score a tax credit worth $500, if it’s refundable, you can pocket the $200 difference, whereas if it’s non-refundable, you’d just wipe away your $300 bill and call it a day.
One refundable credit you should see if you’re eligible for is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), meant to benefit workers with low to moderate income. In general, you can claim it as long your total earned income is at least $1 and your AGI is less than specified limits, which depend on your filing status and how many qualifying children you claim on your return. For 2019, those limits range from $15,570 if you’re single with no kids to $55,952 if you’re filing jointly and have three or more kids. Also, your investment income must be $3,600 or less for the year. And the corresponding maximum amounts you can get with the EITC range from $529 to $6,557. For the 2018 tax year, 25 million eligible taxpayers claimed the EITC, collecting an average $2,488 credit.
A partly refundable option is the Child Tax Credit (CTC), worth up to $2,000 per qualifying child under age 17. The credit amount is reduced for single filers with a modified AGI (that’s your AGI plus certain deductions including student loan interest, half your self-employment tax and IRA contributions) of $200,000, or $400,000 for married couples filing jointly. And up to $1,400 of that credit per child is refundable.
The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) is also partly refundable. It’s worth up to $2,500 a year for each eligible student, and 40 percent of it—up to $1,000—can be refunded to you. To claim the full credit, your MAGI must be $80,000 or less, if you’re a single filer (or $160,000 or less, if you’re filing jointly), and to claim it at all, it must be $90,000 or less (or $180,000 or less for joint filers).
How To Get Money Back From Gambling Taxes Owed
Do I have to claim the credits?
No, you never have to take advantage of tax breaks, but why wouldn’t you? Yes, filing taxes can be an intimidating hassle. But it can be well worth it. And taking advantage of any available tax breaks while minimizing your tax bill is a smart way to give yourself a financial boost.
Acorns does not provide legal or tax advice. Please consult your tax and/or legal counsel for specific tax or legal questions and concerns.
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- This topic has 5 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 9 months ago by .
Hi all.
where do i start?
yes I’m a compulsive gambler , it lets me forget my life I don’t want to live anymore. I get a high when i win and don’t feel nothing when i spin my £125 spins a time and lose it all then the depression and despair sets in . I just want to sleep and never wake up.
I have borrowed thousands from family members , scammed people online to fund my addiction, I have even sucked cock. Just the once and i am completley disgusted with myselfI have a supportive partner and 3 children. I feel i have destroyed my family.
I have mental heath issues too, borderline personality disorder, manic depression, eating disorders ,bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. I take medication for it but when i get stressed it gets bad.
Recently i have self excluded myself from every online outlet.
Too look at me you wouldn’t think there is anything wrong but underneath there is, I hide it and try and cope with normal everyday things.
I am lucky I have a partner who knows all this and wants to help. he is trying to get a psychiatrist to have one on one sessions with to do with my past when was was younger that effected me badly.
Saying all this ..I have read a lot of posts and i feel the same, we are all going through the same thing. It’s hell and i wish there wasn’t any gambling allowed online. I want to stop all these crooks!
In the meantime i and giving it up and it feels dull , i need stimulation of some kind so i must get back into my running and exercise and i am a perfectionist so i’m pretty tough on my self.
I would like to ask a question .. as i have serious mental health do i stand a chance of getting my recent deposits back?
Before i have self excluded and explained my mental health with cassava and they didn’t close it so i kept doing it.
I wish i never got into this in the first place.
Want to say to everyone reading this , stay strong, don’t give up . The best thing about life is that a new day comes and we can start again.
charleen<
Hello and thanks for starting a thread in the Gambling Therapy forums
Here at Gambling Therapy we pride ourselves on being a caring and diverse online community who can help and support you with the difficulties youre currently facing. We understand that this might be a tough time for you, particularly if youre new to recovery, so come here as often as you need to and participate in the forums, access online groups and connect to the live advice helpline if you need one to one support. Were in this together!
Here on the forum you can share your experiences in a safe, supportive and accepting environment. The beauty of writing it all down is that you can take your time and you will be creating a record of your progress that you can look back on if it ever feels like youre not moving forward. So, share as much or as little as you like but do try to stick to keeping just one thread in this forum so people know where to find you if they want to be updated on your progress or share something with you.
And on that note….
Im going to hand you over to our community because Im sure they will have some words of wisdom for you 🙂
Take care
The Gambling Therapy Team
PS: Let me just remind you to take a look at our
privacy policy and terms and conditions so you know how it all works!Hi Charleen. That was a tough read. Kudos on the honesty. Where was it exactly that you asked to be banned, but they failed to ban you?
From my experience both online and brick and mortar casinos take these requests very, very seriously and act on them immediately.Can you give more details and also how did you lose money there? Is there paper trace (did you use your bank cards at those places etc. Also, can you prove that you requested to be excluded?)
Hi Charleen. I’m not going to comment on your chances of getting a refund, other than to say that isn’t the most important thing here.
More importantly what actions are you talking to make sure you don’t deposit any more on any gambling site?
It sounds like your partenr and family know about your gambling problems? How about he takes over the finances for a while so you can’t gamble? Making yourself accountable will both help you stop gamblign and show your family how much you mean it this time. Also of course put their mind at rest you aren’t still gambling.
What other interests do you have? What things are you going to fill your time with away from gambling? I know that’s not easy.
Keep posting here, let us know the positive steps you are taking.
Hi I think you are doing well and taking a good step coming here. I would not focus on trying to get your money back either through gambling or by hoping the casinos refund your deposits. Because in all likely hood they wont no matter what. Accept the fact the money has gone it does not belong to you. And then take the next step to focus how you can start to stop yourself gambling for good.
Wish you well with this.