Won/Loss Statement

The lighter side... playing for entertainment, less concerned about "the math."
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FAA
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Won/Loss Statement

Post by FAA »

Time to face the reckoning of another losing year. How bad was 2019 for you? CET statement stated -$1,449. Add my Ocean losses, so -$3,200 conservatively for me.

advantage playe
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Post by advantage playe »

too bad we r not allowed to carry over to winning years , like stocks ! eg. win 10 grand one year , lose 10 grand next year at video poker . you break even , right ?? WRONG !! u owe tax on the 10 grand ! SHEER ROBERY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

stevel96a1
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Post by stevel96a1 »

FAA wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 11:55 am
Time to face the reckoning of another losing year. How bad was 2019 for you? CET statement stated -$1,449. Add my Ocean losses, so -$3,200 conservatively for me.
i read something crazy how ocean gives back 750$ish from comp dollars, did you cash out anything big??
i also read some players played through 2k-3k on their roulette game and only got back 6 bucks =/

i still cant wrap my mind around how someone can win 2 grand twice lose all of it and owe taxes on it by april 15th =/

advantage playe
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Post by advantage playe »

two separate years ! I reiterate , win ten thousand one year at video poker ,lose ten thousand the next year ,I should have said phiscal year which I thought was obvious u would think u r even but alas no , u owe tax on the ten thousand dollar win !! I know ,I know , a run on sentence and still cant spell !

FloridaPhil
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Post by FloridaPhil »

2019 was a good year for me. Two royals, one for $1,000 and one for $250. Three $1,000 pot shot quad deuces. $800 win in a drawing. Lots of free nights with my sweetheart. Free lunches and drinks. Total out of pocket cost was about $1,500. My wife got lucky and made about $500. No W2Gs.

FAA
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Post by FAA »

Also two RFs. $1,000 and $187. I really would have taken a Bally’s bath without them. I have emerged from the Ocean, which gave me a proper soaking. I need my own personal financial lifeguard for them. Also got bopped, lopped, mopped and stopped at the Trop. The pain was really spread throughout town.

tech58
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Post by tech58 »

Win/Loss Statements, and the impending tax season, brings to mind a question.
Most of my gambling experience has been at 21 tables and blessedly free of the dreaded W2G.
The last apx. 10 years, my VP period, i have had 6 winning years and 4 losing years.
I have never kept a good session by session log of VP play.
All i have ever done is save W2G's and collect win/loss statements at years end (2-3 at most).
At tax time i do a simple process. I list the W2G's on each statement and do a cover sheet with total Reported wins and a summary of net win or loss on the statements.
This yields either a taxable amount (6 times, with much whining) or a net/net loss (4 times,not exactly a joyous occasion either) but no tax hit, other than the brutal itemize related kick.
Now i finally get to my question.
Am i tip-toeing thru a mine field here?
I know that VP professionals, and many serious VP addicts like me, speak of highly detailed logs and records and my guess is they understand the IRS rules and i, somewhat less.

I have never been audited but am wondering if that is just being luckier than at the casino.
Any thoughts or experiences? :?:

Edited to add this, of course this is Fed. related question. The insane state rip-off i don't even want to think about. :x

olds442jetaway
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Post by olds442jetaway »

Don’t forget the amounts on the W-2Gs are already figured in on the win loss statements so whatever they say, thats inclusive of those W-2Gs. The Fed writeoff is never a problem for me as I have never had a winning year. What the State does should be downright illegal. Taxing someone on gross wins with no writeoff ability. Not only that, but it boosts your AGI to the point where you lose deductions and pay more for things like Medicare part B even thiugh you lost money. Since they doubled the standard deduction, they never should have left it mandatory that to deduct gambling losses up to the amount of wins, you must itemize. No W-2Gs so far for 2020. I’m tired of paying them thousands and thousands of dollars in extra taxes when I had a big ganbling loss at the end of the year

FloridaPhil
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Post by FloridaPhil »

Back in 2008, experienced a $14,000 winning day. I was playing dollar video poker and had a dream day. I had not received a W2G before that. I was worried about taxes, so I began to inform myself on how to handle this issue. I learned that gambling losses can be used to offset winnings if you itemize your tax returns. You must be able to produce IRS accepted documentation. I was already itemizing due to my business and investment holdings. I immediately began a hand written log, which I used until recently. I bought a tiny notebook that I carry in my pocket. I record the date, the casino, the amount I wagered and the net result. I also recorded machine numbers and anyone who went with me. I have received numerous W2Gs over the years and have only been audited once for a nongambling related issue. I have never been asked to produce this documentation. I do not believe the IRS is concerned about anyone like me beating the casino. They have bigger fish to fry.

For most people, offsetting has become inapplicable because of the new tax laws. The personal deduction is now so large that fewer people will itemize. If you do, you can still offset your winnings. As before, you must be prepared to back up your claims with proper documentation. A won/loss statement from a casino is acceptable. This does not work for me as I play at so many different casinos that this would be more work than it's worth.

Check with your accountant for tax advice. The bigger problem for me is bracket creep. A $100,000 win is a great thing. Not so great if it moves you into a higher tax bracket. Players that live in high tax states are doubly screwed. Everyone is different. The way I currently handle this is to play small enough so I don't worry about taxes. If one of my infrequent pot shots pays off, I'll pay the taxes and move on.

tech58
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Post by tech58 »

OLD's at my home casino the win/loss statement is specifically "coin-in & coin-out".
I asked a slot club manager about this several years ago and he said, "coin-in is cash or tickets that you insert at any time during play, coin-out is tickets that you pull any time during or at the end of play,
hand-pays not being included in coin-out".
I track the results of each trip as to win or loss so i verified that to be the case.
Certainly other casinos have different methods,as you point out.

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