Paying Tax at American Casinos

**winbig** · 2nd January 2010, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by AussieGambler21

I wasn't really sure where to post this so please move to a more appropriate section of the forum if need be.I couldn't find a real suitable section to post this but would like peoples thoughts and ideas on the matter.

I am thinking of moving to the US but don't like the idea of paying tax on my gambling wins so i was just wondering how much tax the casinos actually take out of your gambling wins, if you can claim tax refunds on this and generally how much of an effort it takes to declare your winnings and losses to the IRS?

I would love to move to the US but the taxes on gambling is probably the only thing that is really stopping me from going any further with the idea however i don't mind paying taxes as long as they are reasonable.You also have to bear in mind i come from a country where all gambling wins and losses are completely tax exempt.

So please give me your opinions.

For casinos, you can win $9,999 in a year and still not get a W2G to use in filing your federal taxes. As far as state taxes go, it varies between states, but it seems the norm is that if you win $1200+ on one game/slot, you'll have to pay taxes on it.

Splitting up transactions between cages is a moot point when it comes to the $10K threshold. If you're playing with a players card, they can track your wins/losses down to the penny.

Here's an example of the win/loss record that the Harrah's group spits out each year. I did pretty good, but still didn't have to pay a penny of my winnings on taxes:

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...Vegas_2007.jpg

Of course there is a loophole. Simply don't play with a player's card, and they will have no way of tracking your wins/losses. The downside to this would be that you'll never get any sort of comps, and if you ever hit it big, you'll have some serious explaining to do to the IRS.

If you're a low roller, I don't see casinos having a problem in playing without a card. However, I have seen some casinos with lower table limits if you're playing 'unrated' ie: without a players card.

edit: If you're a poker player, it's impossible for them to track your wins/losses, so it's up to you in regards to claiming anything on your taxes if you only play cash games as opposed to tournaments.

**GrandMaster** · 2nd January 2010, 11:33 PM

You are mistaken on several points. $10,000 is the daily limit for cash transaction reports. The limits for W-2G vary from $600 to $5,000, but all gambling winnings are taxable at the federal level (losses may be claimed as itemized deductions) regardless of whether a W-2G was issued. There must be billions of dollars of unpaid taxes on gambling winnings, yet this does not seem to bother anyone in the government.

**winbig** · 3rd January 2010, 12:45 AM

Originally Posted by GrandMaster

You are mistaken on several points. $10,000 is the daily limit for cash transaction reports. The limits for W-2G vary from $600 to $5,000, but all gambling winnings are taxable at the federal level (losses may be claimed as itemized deductions) regardless of whether a W-2G was issued. There must be billions of dollars of unpaid taxes on gambling winnings, yet this does not seem to bother anyone in the government.

I would think that if W2G's were required for overall wins of $600 - $5,000, then casinos would be obligated by law to send one out...

..and you're right about it not bothering anyone in the government..if the casinos don't send out a w2g, then of course nobody is going to claim anything on their taxes.