Everything You Need to Know About Gambling and Taxes
The complete tax implications of winning and losing at gambling are pretty much a mystery to accountants, gamblers, and even the Internal Revenue Service itself. The IRS offers surprisingly few details to guide gamblers through the tax maze. Furthermore, what the IRS does say is often general, vague, open to individual interpretation, and contradictory; IRS publications and personnel often leave you with more questions than answers.
Tax Help for Gamblers deals with the innumerable nuances and gray areas of gambling and taxes, including changes implemented in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. It covers all the whys and wherefores of this complex subject, such as tax-code specifics, record-keeping, filing your tax return, state-tax considerations, audits, and other tax problems--often citing relevant court cases to serve as a foundation for your conclusions. Numerous charts and forms help you with the practical application of the information.
This book is for recreational and professional gamblers, low and high rollers, and machine and table-game players. It's applicable to casino, online, international, and cruise-ship gambling; video poker; live poker; and daily fantasy sports.
Do you know the answers to these questions: When must you show official ID in a casino? When must you show your Social Security card in a casino? How should you report the W-2Gs and 1099s a casino issues you? Do you need a gambling diary if you have win/loss statements from all the casinos where you've played? Are you safe from an IRS audit if you've received no paperwork from a casino? Must you account for gambling wins on your tax return if you're a net loser for the year? Can you get a refund for taxes withheld from a jackpot hit in a state in which you aren't a resident? If you don't know, you should. And you will by the time you're finished with Tax Help for Gamblers, now in its fourth edition.
Whether you're a do-it-yourself tax filer or you use a tax professional, Tax Help for Gamblers is an indispensable guide to staying on the right side of the taxman.
About the Author:
Jean Scott is the author of five books in the Frugal Gambler series. She's a writer, speaker, and television personality, a veritable spokesperson for low-rolling gamblers nationwide. She lives in Las Vegas with her husband, Brad.
Marissa Chien is an Enrolled Agent and the president of her own firm, Advantage Tax Plus, Inc. She's a graduate of the University of Michigan and has approximately 300 individual and corporate clients, including poker champions and professional gamblers.
Russell Fox is an Enrolled Agent and is the founder and senior partner of Clayton Financial and Tax, a tax preparation and representation firm. He received his BS from the University of California, Berkeley, and his MBA from the University of Southern California. He is the author of one book on taxes and co-author of three books on poker.com.
