Seeking advice re:collecting win & hiding it from IRS

[Curley143]

A good friend needs to collect over 10k in wins from an on-line site and would prefer to place it in the bank here in the US. If he deposits the casino check that (it seems to me) should be a red flag to the IRS if it were to be looking. I would think that he would be better off withdrawing in amounts under $1200 and then cashing and slowly making deposits from the cash. Is my thinking right or is there another way? What are the pros and cons on this?

I certainly would like to hear other thoughts...please!

Thanks

[Ezrolith]

Hey,

I'm not sure if this has any relevance at all, but a friend of mine here in the UK recently won £17,000 and I thought he would have to pay tax on this, but he didn't. Anything to do with it? Nah, didn't think so lol

[spearmaster]

Let's put it this way.

Hiding it from the IRS is a far bigger offense than online gambling could possibly be. So if your friend is smart he'll just do the right thing and have it transferred to his account and then report the income as normal. Two "wrongs" don't make a right. It will, however, cause your friend to suffer a lot more if he is caught.

[Casinomeister]

ditto on what Spearmaster said, it's up to you on reporting all forms of income to the IRS at the end of the year. You should try and find more enjoyment in paying taxes. Think of all the cool things Mr. Bush can buy

[GrandMaster]

Hey,

I'm not sure if this has any relevance at all, but a friend of mine here in the UK recently won £17,000 and I thought he would have to pay tax on this, but he didn't. Anything to do with it? Nah, didn't think so lol

Gambling winnings are not taxable in the UK.

[Randy]

I agree with the posters above. The best bet is to report the income. Tax evasion is a serious crime, and the IRS don't play softball. Believe me on this one.

Besides--since it's won money, your friend shouldn't even miss the taxes.

[hhcfreebie]

If he can won 10k, chances are he also lost quite a bit.
He can deduct his loss when he file for the tax. If he lost more than he won (very likely), he doesn't have to pay a penny!
I still refuse to pay tax for my winning. It's not about the money. If they want a piece of my winning, they should at least give us some sort of protection and regulation. Now they are treat us gamblers like criminals and we are on our own if we got screwed.
They want something for nothing? Sorry, it an't happening!

[kniepm]

I consider my gambling winnings as "found money." If the IRS can find it, I'll pay taxes on it.

(I know homeland security has already read this post and is, at this moment on the way to my home to collect.)

[angahar]

I am still debating on this one. I normally have no problems paying taxes but this is a special case. If we pay taxes on our gambling winnings next year and Bush gets re-elected, then we are funding an administration that would have no qualms about shutting us down, bill of rights be damned. It is kind of sickening that many states have groups of politicians on a crusade to outlaw internet gambling. The reason why they are doing it is fairly obvious - they are bought and paid for by way of campaign contributions from the Land casinos. Add to that the fact that it hurts their state lottery cash cow and they have no reason to respect our right to do whatever the hell we want with our money online. When they pretend to be protecting the addictive gamblers it is an even bigger joke - they will let land casinos get them drunk and take all their money all day long. The bottom line is they hate for us to send our money out of the country, so instead of allowing operation of online casinos in the US to compete for our business they just want to make us into criminals. F THAT! So even for a normally good citizen like me, it is hard to want to send them my money. I'll probably end up doing it anyways though.

[Angus]

Cash Privacy works well.