Filing as a \"pro\" - minimum number of hours required?
Just had a mid-year checkin with tax advisor who has been doing a bit of research on filing as a pro vs. as a hobbyist. For the most part, I was on track with the requirements from an IRS perspective (documentation/tracking, goal to produce a livelihood, etc.)
One thing I had NOT heard before was that one of the tests the IRS uses is whether you are doing it "full-time", which in their book equates to an average of 35 hours per week. (Obligatory self-deprecating comment: Fortunately, they can't measure poker skill otherwise they'd have pity on me and send me a big fat refund.)
So far this year I only have about 900 documented hours AT THE TABLES, but I could document several hundred other hours in a variety of "legitimate poker business-related activities" to get up to the threshold.
Do any of you who have previously filed as a pro know more about this? TIA
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