How will part-time players survive a regulated poker site?

[Spaded]

Unless "professional gambler" is your stated profession, you cannot deduct your losing sessions from your winning sessions, according to tax law. A regulated site in the USA would be required to report all winnings. Regulation would be a large blessing for us, but our compromise would be increased IRS scrutiny.
How can someone whose winning sessions add up to $100k and whose losing sessions add up to $90k be expected to pay any more than 10% on taxes? Please tell me this has been discussed before and everything is going to be OK [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Otherwise there is no hope for poker. At all. None! Thanks.

[adanthar]

[ QUOTE ]
Unless "professional gambler" is your stated profession, you cannot deduct your losing sessions from your winning sessions, according to tax law.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes you can. You can't net them, but you can deduct them*.

*some states differ

[Uglyowl]

You are right that regulated poker and tax law will cause major headaches. For example if someone in the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts (where losses are not deductible) wins $10,000 on winning days, but loses $12,000 on losing days, the Commonwealth still wants it's $500 ($10,000 * 5% tax rate) even though that person lost money playing poker.

[Spaded]

Tax law would have to be rewritten to make it fair or even worth regulating, otherwise regulation might just kill the industry itself.

[JPFisher55]

Another good reason why I am against regulated online poker. Does anyone think that any government will change its tax laws to fairly tax online poker profits?

[Tomcruise]

Guys, get a grip, you will pay taxes on what you net, I've won lots playing live and online. I have an accountant, and all we do in april is figure out, roughly how much did i net?, ok can i roughly prove it?, fine. Then there is like one line on the tax for where i write , gambling winnings = 100k. End of story. chill out.

[TheJokerIsWild]

[ QUOTE ]
Guys, get a grip, you will pay taxes on what you net, I've won lots playing live and online. I have an accountant, and all we do in april is figure out, roughly how much did i net?, ok can i roughly prove it?, fine. Then there is like one line on the tax for where i write , gambling winnings = 100k. End of story. chill out.

[/ QUOTE ]


Yeah, it's the end of the story until you get audited.

[TheEngineer]

[ QUOTE ]
Tax law would have to be rewritten to make it fair or even worth regulating, otherwise regulation might just kill the industry itself.

[/ QUOTE ]

How so? Losses are deductible at the federal level, as was explained. If your state doesn't do this, I guess you'll have to work for change at that level. Besides, these taxes are owed under the current system....the only thing regulation will change is reporting by sites.

[Poker Clif]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Tax law would have to be rewritten to make it fair or even worth regulating, otherwise regulation might just kill the industry itself.

[/ QUOTE ]

How so? Losses are deductible at the federal level, as was explained. If your state doesn't do this, I guess you'll have to work for change at that level. Besides, these taxes are owed under the current system....the only thing regulation will change is reporting by sites.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, remember, state and local returns ask for your FEDERAL (form 1040) adjusted gross income. So if you can net that at the federal level, you don't really have to worry about state laws, unless they specifically tell you to add it back in on your local return.

[canvasbck]

This is the easiest and fairest tax for poker players.