Gambling winnings and losses: IRS summertime tax tip

[bigboydan]

Gambling winnings and losses: IRS summertime tax tip

Your summer vacation may mean a trip to the casino or the racetrack. What will you owe Uncle Sam if Lady Luck happens to be on your side?
Gambling winnings are fully taxable and must be reported on your tax return.
You must file Form 1040 and include all of your winnings. Gambling income includes, among other things, winnings from lotteries, raffles, horse races, and casinos. It includes cash winnings and also the fair market value of prizes such as cars and trips. You can find more information in Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income.
Anyone who pays your winnings or awards you a prize is required to issue you a Form W-2G if your winnings are subject to Federal income tax withholding or if your winnings are over a certain amount.
However, all gambling winnings must be reported regardless of whether any portion is subject to withholding. In addition, you may be required to pay an estimated tax on your gambling winnings. For information on tax withholding on gambling income, refer to Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.
If your luck isn’t always so good, you may deduct gambling losses. Losses may be deducted only if you itemize deductions and only if you also have gambling winnings. Claim your gambling losses as a miscellaneous deduction on Form 1040, Schedule A. But remember, the losses you deduct may not be more than the gambling income you report on your return.
Even though you may be on vacation, if you want to deduct losses when you file your return next spring, it is important to keep an accurate diary or similar record of your gambling winnings and losses right now.
To deduct your losses, you must be able to provide receipts, tickets, statements or other records that show both your winnings and losses.
For more information, refer to Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions. The publication is available at IRS.gov or ordered by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

[Mark Shark]

If your luck isn’t always so good, you may deduct gambling losses. Losses may be deducted only if you itemize deductions and only if you also have gambling winnings. Claim your gambling losses as a miscellaneous deduction on Form 1040, Schedule A. But remember, the losses you deduct may not be more than the gambling income you report on your return.


You people are getting screwed by your government. You should all come to Australia to gamble as any prize or money we win is tax free. Fancy being happy to take your taxes when you win but don't want to know you when you lose. This would have to be the biggest load of crap I have read. Everyone knows the margins for winning or losing are very small, so to think that the government would want a share of my action when I win is ridiculous. And you all think you live in the Land of the Free.

[WileOut]

Mark believe it or not but gambling is a very small fish in the scheme of things. As far as taxes go, we have a better situation with some things and a worse situation with others. But overall we have a better situation than 99% of countries in the world. Plus our country can defend itself (the most important thing).

Let me ask you this, what would happen to your country (Australia) if China decided to take it over? I'll tell you what would happen, you guys would come crying to the USA and we would save your asses.

But yea, you do have better gambling tax laws

[rwilson]

I think we have it 99% better than the US down here - we've got everything, more sun, more beaches.. I can walk down the road without having to worry about getting mugged or murdered. No earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes...

Let me ask you this, what would a country like yours do if China (the biggest army, navy, airforce in the world by far, no America's not the biggest) decided to take you over tomorrow? Cry to Australia and England for help. If you couldn't beat half a third world country in Vietnam you'd get rolled by China!!! Plus we're healthier and our standard of life generally sh*ts on 99% of America's (the most important thing)

[donjuan]

But overall we have a better situation than 99% of countries in the world.

I'm sure this statement was made after extensive travel and with specific knowledge of the laws of other countries.

[louisvillekid]

I think we have it 99% better than the US down here - we've got everything, more sun, more beaches.. I can walk down the road without having to worry about getting mugged or murdered. No earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes...

Let me ask you this, what would a country like yours do if China (the biggest army, navy, airforce in the world by far, no America's not the biggest) decided to take you over tomorrow? Cry to Australia and England for help. If you couldn't beat half a third world country in Vietnam you'd get rolled by China!!! Plus we're healthier and our standard of life generally sh*ts on 99% of America's (the most important thing)

ok , let me throw my .02 on this.
yes Australia might have more sun on a whole, it is basically an island in a tropical type setting. More beaches? i guess if you consider that the whole nation is surrounded by water, then the whole coastline qualifies as a beach, but since most people live in the south and on the coast in either Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth or Adelaide, i guess you could count the whole southern edge of the country as a beach, but i would put the US's roughly 6000 Miles of continental shoreline of beaches up against it.
Crime, i would assume we would have more crime, since we have roughly 300 million people vs. Australia's 20 million, theres 20 million in New York City alone.
No earthquakes, well if you take the western shoreline out of account, the square miles of the rest of the US that aren't effected by worries from an earthquake are still larger than Australia as a whole.
Volcanoes, in the continental US that is not a factor, yes Washington state has had some in the past, but most are in Alaska or Hawaii, and i think some of the surrounding islands of Australia are active with volcanoes and are technically owned by Australia. McDonald Islands ?
Tornadoes, yes we have them, but since most of Australia is a vast wasteland that is virtually uninhabited, i'm sure they happen, they just aren't noticed. and I pointed out that a majority of Australians live on the coast, they have a greater chance of being hit by something worse than a little ole' tornado, like a tsunami, that could be caused by an earthquake out in the ocean, or a volcano eruption from the surrounding islands.
War, ok, China might have more soldiers readily available, but they DO NOT have a Military that can compete against ours. Vietnam was a mess just like this Iraq thing is a mess, theres a difference in just flat out kickin' tail or trying to fight a guerrilla type war in the streets or jungles of another country. if we are talking about just unloading on another country with everything the US has, there isn't a country that would stand a chance, but we(the U.S.of A.) can't just go out and flatten a country, cause of something in the Geneva Convention, I think its towards the front, maybe on the first page, somewhere between , The US shall not use its military might to wipe a country off the map and The US must be the worlds police force.