Worried about Winnings and IRS

Hey there, I just won $1,000 playing in a large tournament and now my account is up to $1,100. I was wondering if I decide to withdraw some of this money and deposit it, will I have any problems doing so? I live in California, U.S.A, and I just want to make sure that it is legal. Do I have to report this much money to the I.R.S. or what? I just don't want the federal government coming after me or anything. Thanks for the help.

from what i hear, under $500.00 year you don't need to report, but any thing over that you need to.
Do not mess with the IRS, they can hit you hard, also you have to check with your state, as far as what you may ow them.....

You don't have to worry about it yet. Keep track of what you win and spend on poker tournaments, then at the end of the year, the profit is what counts.

Withdrawing has nothing to do with it. You have to pay any taxes on winnings when you file at the end of the year. Unless you're filing as a pro you cannot net winnings so you must keep a log of winnings and losses. You can still deduct losses though up to your winnings.

I love the UK for the gambling rules. All gambling profit is tax free

But i still keep my books!!

I wrote a comment on your other blog. Well done again. As far as the winnings are concerned enjoy. We dont have this kind of problem in the UK. You get a hard time in the USA over online gambling.

i just dont no y they cant allow the us playes to have the same rules as the uk just weird but hay as i havent a problem being that i live in the uk but still i feel for some us players

Your ok 1100$ is nothing. The banks and IRS only audit 10k$ and up deposits. When i withdrawal i do it in 5k$ intervals. I'm new to this site so hope to see you around.

WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!!!

If you are a US citizen you have to report ALL winnings. Yes-even $1.00. It does not matter if you withdraw or not. As long as you won it and have access to it you must report it in the year won.

DURRRRACELL- First-any transaction of $10000- banks,casino ect must report it to the IRS but if you intentionally try to avoid it by taking 5000 then doing another 5000 that itself is against the law. This is why you should take just one big withdrawal and report it once. Even if you do report it on your tax form you can still get yourself in trouble by doing it in 5000 intervals. Second-the IRS and banks do audit deposits and withdrawals under 10000. Do not kid yourself that they don't.

OP-get a tax pro to do your taxes next year and report it or your asking for trouble if they ever aduit you.

keep track of the costs, and losses, and winnings...like most ppl have said. and do the math and report it regardless of how much you won, even if you broke even, the losses are deducted. the irs doesn't care so much how you got your money or what you did with it...just don't try to be slick. this is one of those things honestly is the best policy. don't wait to withdraw it, just keep track of it all as you play.

I agree keep track of everything.. Any history of statements.. You shouldnt have a problem with withdrawing that amount tho.. But in case the I.R.S. Does end up wanting to know where it came from show the the statement.. Best of luck!

From what I understand all winnings online here is Australia are tax free.

But.........if you travel to the USA and win anything at a live Casino event (WPT, WSOP ) they deduct something like 30% from your winnings prior to issuing you with a cheque or direct deposit into your account.

i wouldnt worry considering its not like 10k or anything

I think the I.R.S. tax players upon withdrawals of funds which are won over $10,000.00 annually for online gaming. Any amount under $10k is exempt from Uncle Sam.

This is not true. Please see Zach's post above.

I don't think you have to worry about anything unless its over 10K, that's what the IRS cares about. Besides you should really consider building a bigger BR w/ those $1100, try to get it to over 5K than withdraw. But to be safe, you might want to research on these situations.

BEST OF LUCK

mrmood

First off congrats on the win!!
Second - GO SEE A TAX EXPERT!!!

No offense to anyone but we are here to play poker, I know I am not a tax expert. (I have been audited 3 times in my life - I'm an independent contractor)
The IRS is not someone to fool with, make sure you keep track of all the withdrawals and profit and loss but have a professional deal with the tax situation

Same for us in Australia
Yep, all winnings are tax free here in Australia
That may be so for the USA, but according to his location he is from United Steates.

Wow... there is some real bad info in this thread. Don't take anyone's word for it here, but use google, or better yet talk to an accountant. Zach basically outlined it.

You must pay taxes on all gambling winnings. The way your taxes are computed is on your total winnings. Your losses are taken as a deduction.

Don't guess or believe what you want from this thread. If you withdraw you leave a paper trail that could get you in a mess. 10k has nothing at all to do with it.

http://www.onlinepokerfaq.com/guide/us-taxes.html
http://www.taxabletalk.com/posts/1198018566.shtml

Oh and BTW.. you guys in the UK get a better deal on poker winnings that's for sure... but as to taxes in general.. whew boy.

This. ^^^

This. ^^^

And especially this. ^^^^

"I hear" and "I guess" don't cut it with the IRS. Do the right thing and get some official info.