Do you like to gamble? Do you ever win? If the answers to these questions are 'yes,' you need to know about deducting your gambling losses.

Overkill software golden grin casino. These itemized deductions include charitable gifts, taxes paid, interest paid, job expenses and other miscellaneous deductions (excluding gambling losses and casualty and theft losses). In 2018, the limitations start kicking in when your adjusted gross income exceeds $266,700 if you are single or $320,000 if you are married filing jointly, up. Rules for Deducting Gambling Losses. Under the new law, those who itemize deductions will continue to be able to deduct gambling losses up to the amount of their total winnings. For example, a slot player who wins $25,000 in jackpots may deduct up to that amount in verifiable gaming losses when they fill out an itemized tax form. Sep 09, 2018  They include gambling losses to the extent of gambling winnings and amortizable bond premiums. The bottom line The new tax law giveth and the new tax law taketh away.

All Gambling Winnings Are Taxable Income

All gambling winnings are taxable income—that is, income that is 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.

It also makes no difference where you win: whether at a casino or other gambling establishment in the United States (including those on Indian reservations), in a foreign country such as Mexico or Aruba, on a cruise ship, Mississippi river boat, or at a gambling website hosted outside the U.S. As far as the IRS is concerned, a win is a win and must be included on your tax return.

All Your Winnings Must Be Listed On Your Tax Return

If, like the vast majority of people, you’re a recreational gambler, you’re supposed to report all your gambling winnings on your tax return every year. You may not, repeat NOT, subtract your losses from your winnings and only report the amount left over, if any. You’re supposed to report every penny you win, even if your losses exceeded your winnings for the year.

Gambling Losses May Be Deducted Up to the Amount of Your Winnings

Gambling Losses And 2018 Tax Law

Fortunately, although you must list all your winnings on your tax return, you don't have to pay tax on the full amount. You are allowed to list your annual gambling losses as an itemized deduction on Schedule A of your tax return. If you lost as much as, or more than, you won during the year, you won't have to pay any tax on your winnings. Even if you lost more than you won, you may only deduct as much as you won during the year.

Eu casino bonus code 20 free. In that case you would need to place 20 times more bets on blackjack than on slots.In the case of prepaid spins, the casino will total your winnings from these spins. EXAMPLEYou won $3.69 from 10 free spins on Starburst. With 50x wagering requirements, you’ll have to bet more than $184.50 in total to be able to withdraw your money.You will lose the vast majority of free bonuses before meeting the wagering requirements. But if you are lucky enough to roll the bonus over, then you have to be aware of the MAXIMUM CONVERTED VALUE rule. When you finish spinning, you’ll have to roll over the total amount you’ve won in free spins many times over.

However, you get no deduction for your losses at all if you don’t itemize your deductions—just one of the ways gamblers are badly treated by the tax laws.

You Need Good Records

As the above rules should make clear, you must list both your total annual gambling winnings and losses on your tax return. If you’re audited, your losses will be allowed by the IRS only if you can prove the amount of both your winnings and losses. You’re supposed to do this by keeping detailed records of all your gambling wins and losses during the year. This is where most gamblers slip up—they fail to keep adequate records (or any records at all). As a result, you can end up owing taxes on winnings reported to the IRS even though your losses exceed your winnings for the year.

Gambling Losses 2018 Tax Laws

This has happened to many gamblers who failed to keep records. For example, Bill Remos, a Coca-Cola delivery driver in Chicago, gambled for fun and got lucky: He won $50,000 in a single game of blackjack. When Remos filed his taxes for the year he didn’t report the $50,000 win as income. Why? He knew he had at least $50,000 in gambling losses during the year. He subtracted his losses from his winnings and ended up with zero; so he figured he didn’t have any gambling income to list on his return. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Not to the IRS. Remos was audited by the IRS. Because he failed to follow the rules and couldn’t document his losses, he had to pay income tax on his entire $50,000 blackjack win. He ended up owing the IRS $17,000 in back taxes. This on an annual income of only $32,000!

Will the IRS Know?

Gambling is a cash business, so how will the IRS know how much you won during the year? Unfortunately for gamblers, casinos, race tracks, state lotteries, bingo halls, and other gambling establishments located in the United States are required to tell the IRS if you win more than a specified dollar amount. They do this by filing a tax form called Form W2-G with the IRS. You’re given a copy of the form as well. When a W2-G must be filed depends on the type of game you play. For examplle, the casino must file a W2-G if you win $1,200 or more playing slots; but only if you win $1,500 or more at keno. Thus, if you have one or more wins exceeding the reporting thrseshold, the IRS will know that you earned at least that much gambling income during the year. If this income is not listed on your tax return, you’ll likely hear from the IRS.

Gambling Income Losses 2018 Tax Law Changes

The Rules Differ for Professional Gamblers

2018 Tax Law On Gambling Losses

If you gamble full-time to earn a living, you may qualify as a professional gambler for tax purposes. Professional gamblers inhabit a different tax universe than those who gamble for fun. In general, gambling pros are treated better by the IRS than amateurs, but few people qualify as gambling professioanls.