Royal Flush on Triple Play

[Tedlark]

[QUOTE=billyjoe][QUOTE=GaryMA]If the machine pays for your jackpot and it is under $1200, it is not necessary to report it.
Not true, Gary. The IRS requires you to report ALL winnings on gaming. For a Federal return, you are able to deduct gaming losses up to the amount of your declared winnings.
 
But, of course, if you fed $2,000 into the machine, and then got a $1,000 hand (no W2G), you didn't win anything.. [/QUOTE]

How do you keep track of your wins and losses other than getting a profit and loss statement from each casino you play at?[/QUOTE]
  I tell my accountant what I won and he writes it down. Simple as that.

[Deloradeuces18]

I tell my boyfriend and he glares at me.

[BillyJoe]

[QUOTE=billyjoe][QUOTE=GaryMA]If the machine pays for your jackpot and it is under $1200, it is not necessary to report it.
Not true, Gary. The IRS requires you to report ALL winnings on gaming. For a Federal return, you are able to deduct gaming losses up to the amount of your declared winnings.
 
But, of course, if you fed $2,000 into the machine, and then got a $1,000 hand (no W2G), you didn't win anything.. [/QUOTE]

How do you keep track of your wins and losses other than getting a profit and loss statement from each casino you play at?[/QUOTE]
I play almost exclusively at the larger property groups, Harrah/Caesars and MGM. The consolidated P&L I request each year does the trick.
 
I have been audited twice so far by the IRS regarding gaming loss deductions. In both cases, the IRS accepted the casino generated report as supporting documentation to my tax return.

[chattycattty]

Do you file as a professional gambler?  We have been considering it but our CPA has been discouraging us from doing it.  For the last several years we have averaged 60 days a year at one or the other of our favorite CET properties.  We don't mind doing a little extra paperwork.  Unsure at this time whether to continue to report the w2g's like we have been doing, or look more into filing as a professional gambler.

[Lucky Larry]

[QUOTE=billyjoe][QUOTE=GaryMA]If the machine pays for your jackpot and it is under $1200, it is not necessary to report it.
Not true, Gary. The IRS requires you to report ALL winnings on gaming. For a Federal return, you are able to deduct gaming losses up to the amount of your declared winnings.
 
But, of course, if you fed $2,000 into the machine, and then got a $1,000 hand (no W2G), you didn't win anything.. [/QUOTE]

How do you keep track of your wins and losses other than getting a profit and loss statement from each casino you play at?[/QUOTE]

In addition to P&L I have the casino print a Coin-In/Coin-out statement. This is usually hard to get but, CI/CO allows me to keep track of our total play for the year. P&L only shows one thing - P&L ($20,001 Profit - @20,000 Loss = $1 Profit) That not as helpful as $750,000 Coin In versus $750,001 Coin Out tells a different story.

Hope you had a great time in NOLA.

[chattycattty]

Had a great time in NOLA.  Finished up a little playing VP but no royal flushes.  Not enough to offset losses by wife. 

[BillyJoe]

Do you file as a professional gambler?  We have been considering it but our CPA has been discouraging us from doing it.  For the last several years we have averaged 60 days a year at one or the other of our favorite CET properties.  We don't mind doing a little extra paperwork.  Unsure at this time whether to continue to report the w2g's like we have been doing, or look more into filing as a professional gambler.
No, I do not file as a professional gambler. I am not an accountant, but from what I understand, if I declared myself a professional, I would also have to declare as income the value of all of the 'freebies' that I get from casinos. I could then, of course, deduct all expenses associated with my gaming.
 
Since I have no clothes and no toys that have not come either from a golf course or a casino , I really feel I do not want to go that route.

[Tedlark]

[QUOTE=chattycattty]Do you file as a professional gambler?  We have been considering it but our CPA has been discouraging us from doing it.  For the last several years we have averaged 60 days a year at one or the other of our favorite CET properties.  We don't mind doing a little extra paperwork.  Unsure at this time whether to continue to report the w2g's like we have been doing, or look more into filing as a professional gambler.
No, I do not file as a professional gambler. I am not an accountant, but from what I understand, if I declared myself a professional, I would also have to declare as income the value of all of the 'freebies' that I get from casinos. I could then, of course, deduct all expenses associated with my gaming.
 
Since I have no clothes and no toys that have not come either from a golf course or a casino , I really feel I do not want to go that route. [/QUOTE]
  You'd also have to declare the value of the baseball cap you won from webman, lol...

[chattycattty]

Thank you Billyjoe.  Unless the IRS changes its position, I think we will keep doing it the way we have been doing it.  I definitely do not want to pay income tax on my freeplay, 7 star trips, free lodging, etc., etc., etc.  I guess it evens out in the long run.  The fact that we do not have to pay tax on all this makes up  for reporting the hand pays as ordinary income but only being able to deduct losses as itemized deductions on our schedule A.

[BillyJoe]

Thank you Billyjoe.  Unless the IRS changes its position, I think we will keep doing it the way we have been doing it.  I definitely do not want to pay income tax on my freeplay, 7 star trips, free lodging, etc., etc., etc.  I guess it evens out in the long run.  The fact that we do not have to pay tax on all this makes up  for reporting the hand pays as ordinary income but only being able to deduct losses as itemized deductions on our schedule A.
The one downside is that your Adjusted Gross Income is calculated BEFORE you take your loss deductions. Many other allowable Federal deductions, such as medical expenses, are driven off of your AGI. I get clobbered there every year.