TAXES?!!?!

[Alan3]

It is worse than you think, luckycharms. You not only have to pay taxes on your winnings, you have to pay taxes on the winnings from all of your winning sessions. That means you take all of your winning sessions, sum the total, and you are responsible for paying taxes on that total. You can sum all of your losing sessions and use them as itemized deductions, but if you take standard deductions you are basically screwed.

The IRS requires you to log all of your sessions by hand on paper. They like paper trails because they think they are more difficult to fudge than electronic records. If you are audited and they find those winnings without those records then I hear they become very unhappy.

I've heard speculation that a lot of people might be audited in the future for past years when the online poker sites become legit and as part of the legality deal they provide the IRS with records of all player activity.

[SleeperHE]

Good ole Sam wants his cut....

Check it out...

[climber]

Tax Guide for Gamblers sold by Gamblers book club is solid.

Though I have a feeling you are getting started on this a little too late.

And yes there really are 900 other threads on this topic already.

[Green Kool Aid]

[ QUOTE ]
total of all winning sessions = income
total of all losing sessions = deduction

If you weren't already going to itemize, you'll get screwed. If you were already going to itemize, you may or may not get screwed.

[/ QUOTE ]

do stock investors have to do this with winning days?

[Brom]

My roomate is a daytrader and he does it trade by trade.

[DING-DONG YO]

Legislation forum

[fsuplayer]

guys, its been said a million times already, but if you are making any kind of decent income from poker (30k+) a year, just go to an CPA.

i had 3 visits with mine, and he took care of everything for $180 total.

[iceman5]

Nothing like waiting until the last minute to ask even the simplest and most general questions.

[Wools]

[ QUOTE ]
go to an CPA.

i had 3 visits with mine, and he took care of everything for $180 total.

[/ QUOTE ]

nh

[thing85]

[ QUOTE ]

If you don't pay and you get caught, you will be sent to federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison for a very long time.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is probably quite incorrect. I HIGHLY doubt the IRS would throw him in prison for a "very long time" for failing to pay tax on a $5k income from a source that there seems to be much confusion about. Now, I'm not saying he shouldn't pay (he most definitely should pay). However, I think the penalty you're looking at is in terms of a fine - not jail time.