Tax Questions

**moo321** · 04-04-2015, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by Tthree

What about tournament winnings? If you get a W-2G from a prize in a tournament can you offset that with gambling losses?

Yes. All gambling winnings, whether from a W-2g or otherwise, can be offset with gambling losses.

**moo321** · 04-04-2015, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by ZenKinG

Dumb thread. Hit the casinos hard for 10 years, and take a boat to the other side of the world and never come back(This country sucks anyway). I would love to see the IRS catch anybody. As you can see you're not even taking a plane so no ID tracking possible to know where you could've left to.

Just a horrible idea all round. You will not be able to use the money, and it is easier than you think to get caught. There are rewards for turning in tax cheats. Biggest source is former partners and spouses.

I remember about 10 years ago, all of these hardasses were saying "I'm never gonna report my online winnings, they'll never find me!". Fast forward a few years, and several of the payment processors rolled over on their players. I'm sure there were prosecutions based on that.

**tiny** · 04-04-2015, 04:57 PM

How do you file your W-2Gs if you're filing as a professional gambler (meaning your primary source of income is from gambling)? Do you file them as gambling winnings or part of your schedule C income?

**Norm** · 04-04-2015, 05:01 PM

Originally Posted by ZenKinG

Dumb thread. Hit the casinos hard for 10 years, and take a boat to the other side of the world and never come back(This country sucks anyway). I would love to see the IRS catch anybody. As you can see you're not even taking a plane so no ID tracking possible to know where you could've left to.

ZK, do not make posts suggesting that people commit crimes. APs are law-abiding people that use their brains to beat games. Committing crimes is not advantage play for obvious reasons.

**Goodboy** · 04-04-2015, 05:15 PM

Originally Posted by moo321

If anyone has last minute questions as they're filing returns, just post them here, and I will make my best attempt at answering. All responses will be general tax information for you to make your own decision, not tax advice for your specific situation.

How does US tax legislation works for someone who does not live in the US and it's also not a citizen, but plays there during tourism trips?

**ZenKinG** · 04-05-2015, 08:44 AM

Originally Posted by mcallister3200

-100. You know money isn't the only thing in the world and if it's all you care about you'll likely end up hollow and bitter. Some people actually have family, friends, and lives they've built that aren't worth leaving behind to skim some money. I for one appreciate Moo being willing to donate a bit of his time and expertise here. AP taxes aren't the most simple or common thing tax professionals come across, and Moo is uniquely qualified to answer working in the field and being an AP himself.

Of course people have families. My perspective was solely based on people who wanted to get away with it and if it was possible. Of course you have to decide whether you have other priorities making it not worthless, but if you dont, there's always my idea, but I wont delve into it anymore as per Norms request to not recommend evasion to anyone. And OF COURSE I wouldn't even recommend this to myself, it's simply an idea to anyone who ever was crazy enough to do it and that they would never get caught and would love to see the IRS try.

By the way, why am i the only one sick of all these government associations like the IRS, Police, President and Congress, and all these taxes on consumer goods and everyday living, recurring highway tolls,etc. Why the hell do we need an IRS? To know where money is going? Is that their excuse? Really? Who the hell cares where the money goes, does it affect us citizens? NOit doesn't, I and I'm sure everyone can care less if someone is smuggling drugs to make a living. It's all a money sucking disgrace, why should anyone have to pay taxes on anything? And if one tries to evade it, we get prosecuted to prison? What the hell is that? Don't even get me started on the police who are a complete disgrace and now today with advanced equipment these idiots are starting to get exposed with video of their abuse of power each and every day. What about all the pointless tickets and fines that we hard working citizens pay each and every day for violations that cause no harm to traffic, but just to donate money to the government's pockets. What were these traffic laws put in place for in the first place? Were they or were they not to prevent traffic disruption and accidents? So when we are causing no harm to traffic whatsoever, but dont follow the law by the book such as NOT making a full stop at a stop sign even if there were no cars coming, we still get nailed for a violation? Complete disgrace. And where does all this money go to? It goes straight to the politicians and President so they can feed wars that they don't need and wars based on lies where we send thousands of innocent civilians to die in other countries.

You know whats even more pathetic about the Police, they dont even patrol the most important areas and why we pay them and give them all these benefits. You never see them in gang related areas or high crime areas because they are all scared. But you see loads of them in completely crime free areas giving loads of tickets and fines to innocent people and wait for them behind a dumpster with their headlights turned off waiting for them to slip on a traffic law even when they are causing no harm to any traffic.

This world is so messed up, especially this country, which used to be one of the best places to live on Earch, when the Constitution was actually respected, it makes me sick.

**Gronbog** · 04-05-2015, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by Goodboy

How does US tax legislation works for someone who does not live in the US and it's also not a citizen, but plays there during tourism trips?

Depends on where you're from. For us Canadians, gambling winnings are tax-free. However, when playing in the USA, if we hit the hand-paid threshold when playing a machine, or win an amount above a certain threshold in a tournament, then 30% is withheld by the casino and remitted to the IRS. We then have to file a US tax return as a non-resident alien in order to get the 30% refunded. The thresholds seem to vary from casino to casino. I've had 30% withheld on as little as $1,000 at one tournament while another, where I won $7,500 paid me the full amount.