Do you have to pay taxes on the money you win gambling online? Again, the blunt answer is yes. Since the federal government, and many state governments for that matter, deem winnings from lotteries or gambling to be more than just good fortune. They are income that you generated by actively trying to obtain that money.
So you’ve won a jackpot on the slots or defied the odds on a sports bet in Indiana. Other than bragging on social media, one of the next things you have to do is give the federal and state governments their cut.
Winnings from all forms of gambling are taxable income, including winnings from:
Even if you put money down and win an organized Rock-Paper-Scissors competition, you have to pay taxes on the winnings. Even non-cash prizes like merchandise have to be reported on your federal and state income tax returns.
The idea that the Internal Revenue Service and the Indiana Department of Revenue won’t know is folly. The parties which pay out the prizes, whether that be casinos, sportsbooks, whatever, keep receipts and report them.
Effective for tax years after 2017, the federal rate on winnings over $5,000 is 24%. Winnings under that benchmark of $5,000 must also be reported depending on their amounts and sources.
Currently, Indiana’s personal income tax rate is 3.23%. Almost all gambling winnings are subject to this tax.
Casinos typically withhold 25% of your winnings for tax purposes. That is only the norm if you provide them with your social security number, however. If you decline that option, they usually withhold 28%.
Another service the casinos usually provide for mutual benefit is sending you the appropriate paperwork. Fortunately, Indiana allows you to fill out the same form for both purposes.
Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings reports your winnings for the year to both the IRS and you, in case you haven’t been keeping track.
The amount on this form will include any winnings from the year which qualify for federal taxes. That total will consist of:
The IRS requires you to report the total of your all qualifying gambling winnings for the year on a Form 1040. If you get the W-2G from the payers of your winnings, it’s a simple process of adding up those winnings and the amount of tax they withheld and then transferring those totals onto the 1040.
Add up all the numbers from Box 1 on the W-2G forms and separately, calculate the sum of all the numbers from Box 2. Place the Box 1 total on line 21 of the 1040 and place the Box 2 sum on the line designated as federal income tax withheld.
Even if the game operator didn’t do its job and you didn’t receive a W-2G, that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook.
You are still required to report all your gambling winnings from the year on the form 1040. To do that, fill out Schedule 1 with your gambling winnings as “Other Income.” Attach that to Form 1040 and include it in your personal income tax return.
So what if you weren’t flying solo, but pooled your resources together with others to maximize your chances of winning it big? That doesn’t change much.
The IRS is prepared for this scenario. Form 5754is your go-to.
This is the form to use when you receive gambling winnings, not in your name on a W-2G. This form is also appropriate when you’re part of a group of two or more people sharing winnings.
The important thing to remember is that Form 5754 should not be included in your income tax return. Fill it out and give it to the person who received the W-2G.
Keep a copy for your records. The person who received the initial W-2G should submit all the appropriate 5754s back to the casino so they can correctly record the transaction.
The casino will then send each person their own W-2G. From there, the process is identical to how you would report any individual winnings.
As previously stated, Indiana is a state that allows you to use Form W-2G for your state income tax return as well. To do so, transfer the amount from Line 7 of your Federal 1040 to Line 1 of your IT-40.
If all or part of your winnings came while you were outside of the Hoosier State, you still must report them. That includes winnings from multistate lotteries. Report them just as you would if they came from an in-state game.
There is one legal way to reduce your tax liability from gambling winnings. It only applies if you opt to itemize your deductions, however.
The IRS does allow a deduction for gambling losses. It cannot be claimed if you take the standard deduction on your return, however.
For those who itemize, gambling losses go on Line 28 of Schedule A, Form 1040. You cannot claim a deduction larger than your reported winnings.
And just because you deposit more than you withdraw from your bank account is not necessarily sufficient evidence. You must prove your losses.
You also cannot deduct expenses incurred along the way. The cost of your hotel and meals are just part of the necessary out-of-pocket expense.
If you opt to itemize and claim gambling losses, you’re better off keeping the following for your records:
Casinos can make this easy for you as well. If you’re part of their rewards programs, getting an annual summary of your gambling losses is quite simple.
The same goes for any winnings from the latest gambling option, legal sports betting in Indiana.
With legal sports betting new to Indiana, there are plenty of people betting on college football and the NFL. Your parlay on Notre Dame football or Purdue football games is also taxable income if it exceeds $600. It doesn’t matter whether you placed your wager at an Indiana online sportsbook, inside a casino, on a kiosk at an off-track betting site or on your phone from your couch.
Just like other types of gaming operators, the book you placed your bet with should send you a W-2G. You can use that to report your winnings and withholdings to both Indiana and the IRS.
The positive side of that is just like any other gambling losses; the money you lose betting on sports can be deductible if you choose to itemize. Just as with any other deductions you claim, keeping detailed records is essential.
With any money that is deemed income by the IRS, it’s important to know what your specific tax bracket is to avoid underpayment. The highest federal tax rate is currently 35%, and that’s in addition to the 3.23% you would owe the state on your sports betting winnings.
As most operators only withhold 25% of winnings automatically, you may owe additional federal tax above and beyond what the operator withheld based on your personal income. That amount would be due upon filing.
That applies equally to those who play casino games in person and online in the Hoosier State.
While online poker and online casinos have yet to be legalized, when they do, taxes will work the same as they do at land-based casinos.
The operators of the games should send you a W-2G summing up all your winnings from the year once they reach certain thresholds depending on the type of game. Those are:
With the W-2G in hand, you have what you need to report your winnings and pay any applicable taxes to both the state of Indiana and the IRS. Let’s review all the pertinent information that is relevant regardless of where your winnings came from:
With those simple things in mind, you too can stay safe from tax fraud while gaming in Indiana. Enjoy the games!
Inrecent times, the number of people who travel to gambling centers orregions where gambling is a lucrative business is on the high side.Reno and some cities of Las Vegas welcome several travelers for thispurpose.
Justso you know, if you win big while gambling, you do not get to keepevery cent to yourself. Now someone is asking, why? Well, gamblingwinnings are taxable! …it’s as simple as that!
So,just before you embark on any journey for the sole aim of gambling,take some lessons on tax laws relating to gambling and be sure tounderstand every piece of information you find therein just so youavoid the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and its stress.
Now,you’ll ask … “is gambling income taxable?” well, don’tstress it, the answer is not far- fetched!
Yes!Gambling income is taxable and just before the smiles on your facedisappears into thin air, there is good news for you as an earner…hang in there!
Unlikenormal income taxes, taxes placed on gambling are constant. That is,not progressive.
So,you have nothing to worry about. Be it winning a $3 million at thepoker table or $1500 at the slot machine. So, when you hit a big one,25% of your big win is to go to whichever game you play.
Plus,you will be provided with an IRS form which is also known as a W2-Gto enable you to report your earnings and winnings to the government.Keep in mind that this threshold depends on the type of game.
Anothersuitable question to ask is this, “do these games report theirgambling earnings? Definitely!
Aquick look at some examples; for specificity, in the casino, in orderfor your winnings to be reported, there is one inevitable thresholdthat should be declined.
Anotherexample is the slot machines; for winnings above $1200, it isrequired of you to report them.
Forthat of horse tracks, winnings that are greater than $600 or that are300 times your initial wager must be reported.
Thecase is not different for bingo as it is similar to the slot machine.Every winning from $1200 should be reported.
Thepoker tournament is no different as every winnings Greater than $5000must be reported.
Inspite of all these, it is not required of Casinos to hold taxes orissue a W2-G that was mentioned earlier in this article to playerswho win big amounts at some table games. For example, roulette,blackjack, craps.
Thereason for this kind of segregated requirement made by the IRS isunknown to us perhaps but known to them.
Froma well-observed point of view, in the table games, a level of skillis required whereas the slot machines are merely a game of chance.So, it is not expected of casinos to ascertain for sure the amountyou begin with when you cash in your chips from a table game.
Nowyou ask, “What happens when a W2-G is not sent to me or whathappens when I do not get a notification? Your question might also beasked in this form… What happens if my taxes are being withheldfrom blackjack winnings?
Beforeyou raise your hands high in the air while smiling thinking you canoutsmart all these, just a gentle reminder, not receiving a W2-G formor having withheld taxes does not relieve you of your duties toreport whatever is been won to the IRS.
Thenext question that should readily come to mind is “what should Ido in cases like this?” It’s simple! Do it yourself! You willsave yourself a whole lot of mess by filing your taxes alongside yourother taxes for the year rather than at the casino where you claimyour winnings.
Now,someone is saying, “oh! I’m a professional gambler, gambling iswhat I do for a living, mine is quite different, how do I report mytax?”
Ifgambling happens to be your real profession then, your revenue willbe tagged as regular earned income hence, it will be taxed at thenormal effective income tax rate of a taxpayer.
Keepin mind that your income and expenses compulsorily must be recordedon Schedule C, if you are self-employed.
Hereis a poser. Ever wondered if individual states tax gambling winnings?Well, to answer the poser, certainly, they do.
Insome states, it is required of gambling winners to claim theirwinnings in the state where they were won irrespective of your placeof domicile. Also, your state of residence will require you to reportyour winnings but, at the same time give a deduction for the taxesthat have already been paid in the non- resident state.
Seemslike we are missing out on something really important which happensto be our big question for this article.
Everthought of what will happen if you do not report your gamblingwinnings? Well, enough of the rambles and mumbles as your eye-rollinghas confirmed the answer. Well, we know it’s a “No” simplybecause when that thought crossed your mind, you waved it off withthe back of your hands.
But,guess what? Dust your rackets as we will be hitting off some balls ofquestions as regards that.
Itis quite easy to shrug off the idea of reporting your gamblingearnings whenever that thought creeps into mind because we all wantto enjoy our bucks without any external force trying to snatch itfrom us.
Sosad! Now might not be a perfect time to let that slide as you do notwant to get involved with the IRS. Bet it could get messier thanimagined.
Aswe all know that the most difficult thing in the world to understand,as stated by Albert Einstein, is the concept of income taxes.
However,it is pertinent that you report the full amount of your gamblingwinnings as “other income” on line 21 of form 1040 asstated by the IRS. Also, you must distinctly claim your allowablegambling losses.
Itis unknown to many that the IRS does not permit reducing or netting,gambling winnings by gambling losses and just reporting thedifference. Well, it is considered that such a person owes the IRSback taxes, interest and penalties.
Justso you know, gambling losses up to your winnings must be claimed asan itemized deduction on Schedule A, under the heading “othermiscellaneous deductions”. Where the problem lies is that asidesnetting, there are more than 65% of taxpayers who don’t itemize theirdeductions and can’t deduct gambling losses pay more tax on grosswinnings than they won.
Besides,losses accumulated from gambling cannot be moved forward tocounterbalance winnings in another year.
Incase you haven’t heard, the IRS takes a hard line on gambling income.Hence, in an audit, without providing enough documentation, the agentwill fail to believe you’re losing all winnings. That is, you musthave sufficient documentation to prove your loss so, keep your losingtickets alongside all other important documents you’ve got.
Aproper record-keeping will require a date, the type of gamblingactivity or wager, the name of the gambling establishment, theaddress of the gambling business and the number, list of peoplepresent with you plus the inevitable, amount won or lost.
Insome cases, it will be of utmost importance for you to keepsupplements hotel bills, gas cards, and airline tickets just to provethat they were not part of ATM gambling funds.
Sometimes,the IRS fails to take into consideration the credibility of the ATMreceipts forgetting that the ATM cash receipt could have been used topurchase the nondeductible like cinema bills, spa treatment, salon,restaurant meals.
So,we urge you to input all the ATM funds received to fund the gamblingsessions as evidence for your gambling records.
Keepin mind that the IRS kicks against the player’s reward card as it ismost times an ingenuine way to prove gambling loses because othergamblers have used the card.
Youridentity and evidence that you were the only one using the cardshould all be in your gambling records.
Yourgambling log is being supported and given credibility by document andwin-loss reports. So, put your journal to substantiate the player’scard at every gamble.
Inconclusion, we urge you to be careful just in case because manystatements do not provide substantiative evidence simply becauseestimates are being used. Also, do not hesitate to report every ofyour gambling winnings.
Cheers!