Gambling Win/loss Deductions

• 2019 Itemized Deductions Gambling Loss
• Gambling Loss Deduction
• Gambling Loss Tax Deduction
• Kentucky Gambling Loss Deduction
• Gambling Win/loss Deductions 2020

Gambling losses are exempt from the 2% AGI threshold that applies to some itemized deductions. Gambling losses are exempt from itemized deduction 3%-cutback. Gambling losses are not an adjustment (add-back) in calculating Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The AGI Problem. Gambling winnings increase Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) but gambling losses. Instead, those casinos will provide only an annual net win or loss statement. As this may cause problems in an IRS audit if the auditor is a stickler for technicalities, a taxpayer may prefer to patronize casinos which provide the additional detail as a higher-level of customer service.

Can You Net Gambling Wins With Gambling Losses on Your Tax Return?

Taxpayers who gamble casually (meaning they do not qualify as being professional gamblers under the tax code) can net wins and losses within a single session of gambling, but not from different days. The total of multi-session wins would be reportable as “other income” on Form 1040 but the total of multi-session losses would be reported on Schedule A under “Other Itemized Deductions,” up to the amount of your winnings.

Because casinos report larger winnings to the IRS on Form W-2G, failing to use this method may cause the IRS to see a discrepancy and trigger an audit. The general IRS advice on this topic can be found on the IRS’s website (click here).

The netting ofwins and losses is addressed by the Tax Court in Shollenberger v.Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-306 (2009), where the court followed IRSguidance in stating:

A key question in interpreting §165(d) is the significance of the term “transactions.” The statute refers to gains and losses in terms of wagering transactions. Some would contend that transaction means every single play in a game of chance or every wager made. Under that reading, a taxpayer would have to calculate the gain or loss on every transaction separately and treat every play or wager as a taxable event. The gambler would also have to trace and recompute the basis through all transactions to calculate the result of each play or wager. Courts considering that reading have found it unduly burdensome and unreasonable. See Green v. Commissioner, 66 T.C. 538 (1976); Szkirscak [sic] v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1980-129. Moreover, the statute uses the plural term “transactions” implying that gain or loss may be calculated over a series of separate plays or wagers.

The better view is that a casual gambler, such as the taxpayer who plays the slot machines, recognizes a wagering gain or loss at the time she redeems her tokens. We think that the fluctuating wins and losses left in play are not accessions to wealth until the taxpayer redeems her tokens and can definitively calculate the amount above or below basis (the wager) realized. See Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co., 348 U.S. 426 (1955). For example, a casual gambler who enters a casino with $100 and redeems his or her tokens for $300 after playing the slot machines has a wagering gain of $200 ($300-$100). This is true even though the taxpayer may have had $1,000 in winning spins and $700 in losing spins during the course of play. Likewise, a casual gambler who enters a casino with $100 and loses the entire amount after playing the slot machines has a wagering loss of $100, even though the casual gambler may have had winning spins of $1,000 and losing spins of $1,100 during the course of play. [Fn. ref. omitted.]

Thus, the net win from the session as a whole (e.g., when the taxpayer actually cashes out for the day) would be reported under “other income” while the net loss from another day’s session would belong on Schedule A.

Fortunately, those who use casinos’ player cards often can get a statement from the casino breaking down daily wins and daily losses. Some casinos, however, decline to provide this level of detail to their own customers despite having such records. Instead, those casinos will provide only an annual net win or loss statement. As this may cause problems in an IRS audit if the auditor is a stickler for technicalities, a taxpayer may prefer to patronize casinos which provide the additional detail as a higher-level of customer service.

The author of this post is Daniel W. Layton, a former IRS trial attorney and ex-federal prosecutor in the Tax Division of the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office. He is a tax attorney representing private clients in Newport Beach and Fullerton, Orange County, California.

Posted on 12/11/2019 by Daniel Layton.

If you gamble, you may not feel like as much of a winner come tax season next year. Changes in the State of Oklahoma tax law a limiting how much you can write off as a 'loss.'

'I see this for Oklahoman's as like the gambling penalty,' said Eileen Robinson, the head accountant at Gardner's Tax Services Inc.

In previous years, you could write off your total gambling losses in your adjusted income which is what you can still do for federal taxes, but for Oklahoma state taxes, you can't do that anymore.

'For federal you have to show in the income on the 1040, your schedule 'A' is where you take your itemized deductions and that's where you right off your gambling losses,' Robinson said. 'In Oklahoma, they limited the amount of itemized deductions you can take, you can take all of your donations but it limits the rest of it to that 17,000.'

This means you'll have to pay income tax for the total amount of big jackpots.

In the past, if you lost money while gambling, then won, you could deduct those losses from your winnings then only pay the tax on the difference.

'Now when you win that money you're going to have to pay the taxes whether you out that money back into the machine or not,' Robinson said.

Something that Robinson says has been an unpleasant surprise for her clients this year.

'They're in shock, most of them didn't know and of course not until we got ready to do their taxes,' Robinson explains.

It may be too late to make the adjustment this year, but there are ways to prepare for the tax change next season.

2019 Itemized Deductions Gambling Loss

'I'd say 5% of all their winnings needs to be set aside to send in' Robinson said. 'So lets say if you won something you need to make sure you set back enough to be able to pay the taxes for the state and try not to plug that into the machine.'

Gambling Loss Deduction

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Gambling Win/loss Deductions 2020

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