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Are Gambling Losses Tax Deductible

By James Helliwell posted 09-16-2013 08:57 AM

  



Can you claim tax on your gambling losses? Yes, it is tax deductible but relates to the extent of money you have won and report as income. You must firstly owe tax on your winnings to be eligible to deduct losses. Ultimately deducting losses means paying less tax on winnings.


IRS 


The IRS does not permit you to simply subtract your losses from your winnings and report your net profit or loss. You must be eligible to itemize deductions. If expenses and gambling losses are greater than the standard deductions of your filing status and you will be eligible to itemize tax deductions on Schedule A. 

The deductable amount of gambling losses cannot exceed any winnings you report as income. For example, you were to have $10,000 in winnings but $13,000 in losses you would only be eligible to claim up to $10,000. You cannot claim write off the balance or carry it forward to the next year.


Winnings

You may not claim losses without declaring any winnings, and if losses outweigh winnings you cannot simply write them off. The IRS cannot allow this, as it would then essentially be subsidizing taxpayer gambling. Losing money at a casino or the race track does not by itself reduce your tax bill.

A diary of all details and amounts won or must be kept from all betting and gambling , whether that be lotteries, raffles, horse and dog races, casino games , online games like the riverbelle online casino, poker games and sports betting. Dates, addresses, the type of gambling you have engaged in and details of other participants must be included and records, wagering tickets, cancelled checks or credit records and receipts from the gambling facility. must be provided to the IRS. You may need to use forms W-2G or 5754 to provide further evidence of winnings and losses. You are still obligated to report and pay tax on any winnings you earn during the year.

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