Just won six figures, need financial/tax advice

[dumbndumb]

Hi MTT community.

I just won a little over $100,000 in a live MTT. This is by far my biggest cash and I do not know the intricacies regarding how to pay the taxes nor do I know the best way to maximize what I get back. In addition, we chopped 3 ways yet I was technically listed as the winner of the tourney (first is actually almost 70k more than what I received).

Any resources you guys could provide for tax advice or financial advice would be much appreciated. I plan on contacting a tax attorney, but I don't know if this is the right resource to tap.

Thanks for any help or advice you can offer.

-Dumb

[Oatmeal]

Congrats on the score!

I hope you got the SS# of the people you chopped with (not that you absolutely need it, but it can help a lot).

Use a small percentage of the money you won to hire an accountant/tax lawyer...

[willie]

the megastack tourney at fw?

if so congrats, there is a thread int he t ourney/wsop forum bout it.

[Slow Play Ray]

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the megastack tourney at fw?

[/ QUOTE ]

[dumbndumb]

yes, it was the mega at FW. I was the 30 yo with the beard who was always freezing, so I usually had my leather jacket on.

[MJBuddy]

[ QUOTE ]
the megastack tourney at fw?

if so congrats, there is a thread int he t ourney/wsop forum bout it.

[/ QUOTE ]


Something about this post made me laugh.

If he did not win the mega stack...would you not congratulate him?

[Slow Play Ray]

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yes, it was the mega at FW. I was the 30 yo with the beard who was always freezing, so I usually had my leather jacket on.

[/ QUOTE ]

very nice work, sir.

[NHFunkii]

shoebox under the bed

[McMelchior]

Congrats on the nice result!

I'm by far not a tax expert, but here are a few ideas:

First of all, Foxwoods is an Indian casino, and they might operate with slightly different procedures than non-Indian casinos. Were you given a W2-G? And if you were, what did it read? If it read any different from the actual cash-out you should probably have given the casino a Form 5754, signed by you and the choppees, showing the real distribution of the dough.

Second, with such a big win remember you can play tournaments for the rest of 2007 with 30% discount on the buy-in ... meaning if you itemize your deductions on your 2007 tax return (which probably is a good idea) you can deduct tournament buy-ins from your win when calculating the actual tax, saving at least the federal tax. Whether you can deduct on your State/City return varies.

In your situation I'd probably contact somebody like Nelson Rose, who writes the tax column for Card Player Magazine. You can find his email address on cardplayer.com. If he hasn't got the time to help you, his office can refer you to someone qualified. Believe me, you'll find it's worth it paying even a couple of thousands to a qualified gambling tax expert - and the fee might not be that high.

EDIT: Appears you might want to contact Ann-Margaret Johnston Poker tax web site

[MJBuddy]

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Believe me, you'll find it's worth it paying even a couple of thousands to a qualified gambling tax expert - and the fee might not be that high.

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Investing in a good tax worker saves you more than they cost. This statement needs to be bold'd :P