Ronnie Deutch on Gambling and Its Tax Implications
America’s renowned tax lady, Ronnie Lynn Deutch, has recently posted an article discussing the tax implications of gambling in her Tax Help Blog. As we all know, the IRS automatically considers the winnings we earn from gambling as taxable income. In her article, Ronnie Lynn Deutch explains how to report these winning to the IRS.
Ronnie Lynn Deutch suggests that winners of a qualified amount should make sure to report their winnings on their tax returns as the IRS already knows about them. Avoiding taxes by giving incorrect information to the casino is a big mistake as it can lead to more trouble in the future.
However, not all winnings are reported to the IRS. Casinos only report winnings that exceed $600 in a horse track, $1,200 in a bingo game as well as winnings that exceed $1,500 in a game of keno.
Gambling prizes, winnings, or even cash prizes must be reported on the taxpayer’s Form 1040 during the tax season. These reports should then be placed on line 21 together with “other income.”
Aside from reporting gambling winnings, taxpayers might also want to deduct their gambling losses. However, gamblers or taxpayers involved in gambling cannot report any gambling losses that exceed the total of their winnings.
