1099 for Winnings in the Casino

[EyeSeaEwe]

OK, WAIIIIIIIT A MINUTE!!! ON WHICH PLANET THIS IS SUPPOSED HAD HAPPENED? not on my planet. The letter of the law as yo mentioned, allow small amounts as not taxable, that is why a W2 is not issued, therefore is not need to report that amount. that will be reported on the W/L statements given by the casinos, if the winnings are higher than the loses, then you need to report the excess amount.

 

WRONG. The issuance of a 1009/W2G has nothing to do with the taxpayer's responsibility to report the winnings as earned income. You are mixing two rules. One rule determines what the casino has to report, the other determines what the winner has to claim on their tax retrurns. ALL gambling winnings are 100% reportabel as earned incoem for federal tax purposes. Also it is wrng that you only need to report the excess. You are supposed to claim 100% of the winnings and you can (if you itemize) claim losses (up to the amount of your winnings) as an offset. I have not done CPA work for a few years but up unless things have changed very recently this is the way it is.

[EyeSeaEwe]

once again, which planet is this? according to you, and using the same example, if I've left my room with $2000 and play at the casino for hours and then i come back to my room with $800 i need to report that amount because i received that from the machine. how is that a winning? what i see is that i lost $1200, no matter how you look at it.

 

so I guess the way you play at the casino is that you put $2000 in the left pocket and only take money from that pocket to feed the machines, and then anything that you win you put it on the right pocket, you continue playing for hours and you continue with the same strategy, only taking money from the left pocket and cashing out any winnings and putting them in the right pocket. by the end of the night, you have $0 in the left pocket and $800 in the right pocket, but you are morally obligated by the law to report $800 because according with you, you won. Really? good luck finding somebody doing that. I am glad you are not my CPA.

 

the OP clearly stated she is planning to report the loses up to the point of the $2300 she won and got the W2, she has not other intentions and neither did I suggested to "cheat" the tax law.

 

 

Again ALL winnings are technically must be reported as earned income to the IRS for federal tax purposes. If you sit down and put any given amount in a slot machine, the difference between that amount and what you take back out is either reportable (if you won) or can be used as a write off (if you lost and you itemize). if the OP put $100 in the machine and got a hand paid jackpot of $2300 and then cashed out at the end $300, she has a total reportable win of $2500. If under the same situation she walked away from the machine with just the $2300, then he has a $2300 reportable win and $100 that she can claim as a gambling loss when she itemizes.

[Admin]

] the OP clearly stated she is planning to report the loses up to the point of the $2300 she won and got the W2' date=' she has not other intentions and neither did I suggested to "cheat" the tax law.[/b'][/color]

Yes, I will report the $2,300 in winnings because that was on one spin of the slot machine and it came up on the screen that an attendant needed to come. They cashed out the $2,300 in winnings but my credits that I was playing with stayed on the machine. The other $1,500 I cashed out was in smaller increments when I won on this machine or that.

 

I don't know tax law so I'm only messing with the $2,300 because they documented it. I never usually win so it's never been an issue before. But when I do win a few dollars here and there I don't feel like I need to do anything more than smile and be happy for the small win because I usually lose.

 

Thanks again everyone. :D

[Rancher Dave]

Yes, I will report the $2,300 in winnings because that was on one spin of the slot machine and it came up on the screen that an attendant needed to come. They cashed out the $2,300 in winnings but my credits that I was playing with stayed on the machine. The other $1,500 I cashed out was in smaller increments when I won on this machine or that.

 

I don't know tax law so I'm only messing with the $2,300 because they documented it. I never usually win so it's never been an issue before. But when I do win a few dollars here and there I don't feel like I need to do anything more than smile and be happy for the small win because I usually lose.

 

Thanks again everyone. :D

 

Should share the $1500 info with the CPA as well since you have already posted the info in a public forum, where the IRS could see it if they went looking.

[EyeSeaEwe]

Yes, I will report the $2,300 in winnings because that was on one spin of the slot machine and it came up on the screen that an attendant needed to come. They cashed out the $2,300 in winnings but my credits that I was playing with stayed on the machine. The other $1,500 I cashed out was in smaller increments when I won on this machine or that.

 

I don't know tax law so I'm only messing with the $2,300 because they documented it. I never usually win so it's never been an issue before. But when I do win a few dollars here and there I don't feel like I need to do anything more than smile and be happy for the small win because I usually lose.

 

Thanks again everyone. :D

 

You what? :)

 

Seriously though, the other $1500 is fully reportable as well. Whether you choose to comply with the law is 100% up to you. Will the IRS ever find out, probably not. Will they make you pay the taxes you legally owe plus interest and penalty if they do find out, yes. I would venture to guess that a huge majority of people do not comply with the law regarding tax liability for gambling winnings. I only chimed in because one or more other peoel were giving you incorrect, factually inaccurate information.

 

Remember if you do itemize, you can claim any gambling losses (that you can document) to offset the winnings (up to the amount of the winnings). Start saving up losing lottery tickets.

[Chuck2810]

IRS - why does this not feel like a vacation anymore.....?

[Admin]

Should share the $1500 info with the CPA as well since you have already posted the info in a public forum, where the IRS could see it if they went looking.

The money I started with is in that $1,500. There's no documentation of what I put in versus what I took out so I'm square on that one. NCL documented a $2,336.25 jackpot win and that's what I'm giving the accountant.

 

Thanks again everyone!

[fshagan]

You what? :)

 

Seriously though, the other $1500 is fully reportable as well. Whether you choose to comply with the law is 100% up to you. Will the IRS ever find out, probably not. Will they make you pay the taxes you legally owe plus interest and penalty if they do find out, yes. I would venture to guess that a huge majority of people do not comply with the law regarding tax liability for gambling winnings. I only chimed in because one or more other peoel were giving you incorrect, factually inaccurate information.

 

Remember if you do itemize, you can claim any gambling losses (that you can document) to offset the winnings (up to the amount of the winnings). Start saving up losing lottery tickets.

 

That's my understanding as well. Losses go on Schedule A, which only works for you if you itemize deductions.

 

I don't deal with these often, but can you net the amount of wins and losses in the same session for Line 21? Or do you have to list only the payouts on Line 21 and then the losses (in the same session) on Sch. A?