Video Poker Forum

I know there's the $1200 limit before you have to pay taxes on winnings (I believe that is the same in all states, but if not, it is in the few states I play).
 
Is that if you cash out with over $1200 or if you go over $1200.  For example, you playing and get a hit that brings you to $1250.  At that point do you automacilly pay taxes on the winnings or if you play it down to $1199 does that exclude your win from being taxable?
 
Thanks

Accumulated credit cashouts that exceed $1199 are not subject to W2G tax reporting. If a casino tries to issue you a W2G on a cashout exceeding $1199, get a supervisor/gaming commisioner. Federal law only requires that it be issued for a singular jackpot win that is valued at $1200 or more. Note though, if you are playing multi-line games(3,5,10,etc.), the total value of all winning hands is considered as one singular win.

While the casinos are only required to report to the IRS individual jock-pot winnings in excess of $1,199.00, the IRS regulations require individuals to pay taxes on ANY winnings...even if that win is only 5-cents!  Unfortunately, you can only claim loses equal to the amount won and keeping records of those loses is something that is also very nebulous in the eyes of the IRS as to what type records they will accept.  I'm not sure about gamblers the IRS classifies as professional.  I think they are allowed to claim any travel expenses or other monies spent in pursuit of their "job" but am not sure if even they are able to claim more in loses for the year than that amount than they've won.   The IRS isn't at all all sympathetic with those in the gambling profession!

Unfortunately, you can only claim loses equal to the amount won and keeping records of those loses is something that is also very nebulous in the eyes of the IRS as to what type records they will accept. 

 
Year-end statements can be requested from casinos to help support personal records.  The info on those can be iffy, though.  Sometimes the statements are right on, sometimes they're wildly inaccurate.  I keep both year-end statements and session by session records.  The statements from the casinos here in CO used to have a line at the bottom saying they could be used for tax purposes; but for the last several years that's been changed to say that they're NOT to be used for tax purposes.  That's strange to me - what other reason is there to have statements at all? 

Accumulated credit cashouts that exceed $1199 are not subject to W2G tax reporting. If a casino tries to issue you a W2G on a cashout exceeding $1199, get a supervisor/gaming commisioner. Federal law only requires that it be issued for a singular jackpot win that is valued at $1200 or more. Note though, if you are playing multi-line games(3,5,10,etc.), the total value of all winning hands is considered as one singular win.
 
I'll confirm what you said, since it's an important issue.  Example - if you have a nice run on a $1 token machine and bring buckets of coins to a cashier that add up to over $1,200 they are supposed to pay you IN FULL - no taxes.  I've never had a problem with that, but I'm sure someone here has a story about a casino trying to do the tax thing on something like that.
 

First, thanks for all the answers.  I was real close to $1200 last weekend and cashed out. Better to win a little under $1200 than cash out at $1201 and have to fill out the tax forms, so looks like I did the right thing. 
As for coin machines, I can't swear but I'd think that would be considered like chips from table games.  I do know with chips/tables there is no need to file tax forms.  Maybe if you cash out $100,000 or so, but I've never seen it required and saw a friend go to the cashier with over $20000. They payed him, no questions asked.
 
I guess you could do that with ticket out machines if you cashed out $1000 with multiple tickets.

I have cashed out acculated wins over $1200 (TITO) and never have been issued a W2G.

No No!  It's not the amount you cash out with on a machine that triggers the W2G.  You can hit TWENTY quad Aces with kicker on DDB for 2000 credits each on a quarter machine and not get a W2G.  But, if you hit a Royal Flush for 4000 credits, the machine will lock up and you will get a hand pay on a quarter machine and the floor person with fill out the W2G when they pay you.  It's hitting $1,200 in one hand that triggers it.

MikeA
 
You are right. I was responding to 7come11 and guess I didn't make myself clear.
 
 

MikeA
 
You are right. I was responding to 7come11 and guess I didn't make myself clear.
 
 I was responding to him also...I just didn't use the quote.  I knew that you knew.To be honest, I usually do cash out on a machine on which I've hit several quads.  But the reason for that is that I don't like to carry around a huge ticket or have that much in credits on a machine.  Too many cons in the casino to distract you while someone on their team hits your cash out button while you are distracted and grabs the ticket!  I may cash out and replug it with another wad of cash to resume play on the same machine.  Dang, it's hell getting old!   I may have stated this before and maybe even in this topic <shech!)  If you walk into a casino for the first time in your life, sit down and plug $5 into a nickel machine and cash out with $5.05, you are by law required to report that nickel in winnings to the IRS whether there was a W2G prepared or not!The regulation that requires the casinos to file a W2G is something I think the IRS put into place to make sure they got their sticky fingers at least into the jackpots.  Of course when it was instituted (and I can't remember the year) $1,200 was quite a bit of money.  There have been attempts to get that value raised to represent a "jackpot" by todays standards.  But getting the IRS to do anything "smart" takes an act of God and I'm not seeing many miracles occurring here lately!