Las Vegas Direct Magazine

Gambling Taxes

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Gambling Income and Expenses

Below are one of the rules from the IRS website regarding paying taxes on gambling winnings. There are other rules and regulations that may also apply.
Topic 419 - Gambling Income and Expenses
source: http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419.html (2005)Gambling winnings are fully taxable and must be reported on your tax return. You must file Form 1040 (PDF) and include all of your winnings on line 21. Gambling income includes, but is not limited to, winnings from lotteries, raffles, horse races, and casinos. It includes cash winnings and also the fair market value of prizes such as cars and trips. For additional information, refer to Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income.

A payer is required to issue you a Form W-2G (PDF) if you receive $600 or more in gambling winnings or if you have any gambling winnings subject to Federal income tax withholding. The $600 amount is increased to $ 1,200 for winnings from bingo or slot machines and to $ 1,500 for winning from Keno.

If you have won more than $5,000, the payer generally is required to withhold 25% of the proceeds for Federal Income Tax. If you did not provide your social security number the payer may have to withhold 28%. For more information on withholding, refer to Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.

You may deduct gambling losses only if you itemize deductions. Claim your gambling losses as a miscellaneous deduction on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF), line 27. However, the amount of losses you deduct may not be more than the amount of gambling income you have reported on your return. It is important to keep an accurate diary or similar record of your gambling winnings and losses. To deduct your losses, you must be able to provide receipts, tickets, statements or other records that show the amount of both your winnings and losses. Refer to Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions, for more information.

Most Las Vegas casinos will provide to you a free,
written statement of your gambling wins or
losses in their casino.

While it is provided for income tax purposes, most
readers people will not need it for preparing their income tax returns. In any case, it is always
interesting to know what your favorite casinos
have on their records for you. The casinos will
usually report separate amounts for table games
and slot machines.

As each casino has their own requirements to get
your Win/Loss Statement, consult your
favorite Las Vegas casinos from the list below
and follow what they ask for.

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