do i pay taxes on 250$ i won

has anyone every filled out there taxes?..if i cash out 250$ do i fill out my taxes?..or will the irs not care about it?

depends on if you are up $250. If that's how much you are up for the year, than yeah, you should report it.

I doubt anyone's gonna knock down your door for it

Actual answer is you are supposed to claim any money you receive.
As others have noted I doubt the IRS will know or worry about the $250 if that is all you won in one calendar year. Also if you do decide to claim gaming wins you can also claim gaming loses if you keep good records.

Do you claim it if you haven't cashed it out from your account yet???

Yes, what ever you are up in a calender year you must report. It doesn't matter where you are keeping the money, unless it's in a 401k or similar tax free plan. I doubt any poker room is offering a 401k.

Just think if you made like 50k a year at a non poker job. And this 50k is what your income was after you figured in all your write offs. But you spent 30k on whatever during the year, you still pay taxes on the 50k not just 20k.

CSuave said:

Actual answer is you are supposed to claim any money you receive.
As others have noted I doubt the IRS will know or worry about the $250 if that is all you won in one calendar year. Also if you do decide to claim gaming wins you can also claim gaming loses if you keep good records.

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You can balance your winnings and loses but can not put a negative amount in the gambling winnings box. Now if your a professional poker player its different because your "gambling" winnings are your income.

Also keep in mind...gambling losses are itemized deductions, so you can only deduct gambling losses if you itemize. You would only itemize if your standard deduction is less than your total itemized deductions.

but im just doing it as a hobby..so i just keep up with how much i win and lose and write it down on the form?..where do i put the total amount?..like say i won 350$ i put on other income right?...where do i put my losses at?..and my winnings how many things do u have to fill out?..can someone send a file with the form with a check mark next to it so i know whatr all u have to fill out

suit2please said:

You can balance your winnings and loses but can not put a negative amount in the gambling winnings box. Now if your a professional poker player its different because your "gambling" winnings are your income.

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This is wrong advice. Consult a tax accountant.

Lots of good info at: http://www.gambling-law-us.com/Articles-Notes/good-questions.htm

but u have to pay to see a tax accountant right?....i just need to know which things to fill out and where thats all..is that to much ask for i lol..just post a copy of a form..and put a black mark next to where i fill out everything and what to put there and everything will be fine..i love playing poker..my mom is a little afraid i just want to do everything right

The year isn't over yet. What are you so worried about? You might not even be up when the year is over with.

you think i should just keep the amounts low?..when i cash out so it wont raise a flag to the IRS

No, you shouldn't hide anything form the IRS. But I'm saying the year isn't over with yet. If you are worried about $250 you haven't played poker very long. I'm just saying, you're not up that much, by the end of the year you might not be up is all.

This is a January question imo.

i think if you win less this 600 dollars a year do don't put it on the taxes but anything after 600 dollars you have too

FlushYouAce said:

but u have to pay to see a tax accountant right?....i just need to know which things to fill out and where thats all..is that to much ask for i lol..just post a copy of a form..and put a black mark next to where i fill out everything and what to put there and everything will be fine..i love playing poker..my mom is a little afraid i just want to do everything right

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HOW THE HELL DID FOLKS READ THIS AND NOT FALL ON THE FLOOR LAUGHING. That was hilarious. Someone just show him all paperwork here on CC and mark where he signs and his question is answered. Ill get right on that boss lol. I'd be afraid of the mama being pissed rather than her scared imo lol

Between:

The fees to deposit (sometime)
Rake
Fees to withdraw (sometime)
Taxes

Is playing poker gonna end up being worth it in the long run

FlushYouAce said:

but u have to pay to see a tax accountant right?....i just need to know which things to fill out and where thats all..is that to much ask for i lol..just post a copy of a form..and put a black mark next to where i fill out everything and what to put there and everything will be fine..i love playing poker..my mom is a little afraid i just want to do everything right

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Hey man do what you want, most of the advice here is speculation. If you don't use an accountant its your responsibility to obey the law.

In the 2006 federal tax code there was its 44000 pages, 5.5 million words.

Read what Russ Fox says in the link I gave earlier.
also try googling: poker taxes

Your mileage may vary if you follow advice from a forum to do taxes.

well see here is the deal..i Draw a SSi Check because of my Hearing..my info on my poker site is not under me it is under my moms name..she dont work just my stepdad..so will that hurt my ssi check if she has income coming in?..and she will have to be the one filling out the taxes not me

We don't pay taxes on poker in the UK. Quite glad about that one

Beau Akita said:

Also keep in mind...gambling losses are itemized deductions, so you can only deduct gambling losses if you itemize. You would only itemize if your standard deduction is less than your total itemized deductions.

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This seems like a fair assumption. And I believe you have to make a certain amount of money before you can itemize.

It should be easy to keep records of your poker wins and losses if you use echecks to deposit/withdraw. Just print out your bank statements and add them up.

I totally agree you should report everything to the IRS but sounds kind of ironic the IRS can tax an income on an activity that federal law forbids your bank from doing.

How sick is it paying taxes on poker!! So sick, I really couldn't do it i really guess you must be accustomed to it.

I could never ever comprehend winning at gambling or poker and being taxed on it!! How on earth can they warrant taxing people who are putting in their own money against others money?? If England ever did this I don't think I'd play or I'd make sure I'd play where I wasn't taxed.

Makes no sense, I don't think I would bother playing poker unless I was a big time scorer in the game as it would just depress me having to hand over a portion of winnings.

They used to have a very small fee in tax on the horses around 10 years ago then abolished it.

This must mean even a roi% has gotta be quite a lot higher than say someone from my country to make it "profitable" for someone?

What is the percentage by the way?

ps: What happens to holiday makers who go to vegas and luckily manage to land a "win" do you get taxed on it? My father went vegas for his wedding and him and his wife said they won money which covered their travel, accommodation and spending money which was quite nice but didn't mention paying taxes and i'm sure he would of if he did lol. Also, casinos I know have and always will have that edge and say you do win at roulette, when you cash out (being U.S citizen or not) are you taxed or are playing in casinos different?

VAT

in uk we pay 17% vat on most gambling ,horses casino. its taken in advance. thats enought but having to fill tax accounts for all as in US must turn u all off, having to look over your shoulder all the time.

Yeah I'm aware of VAT...however how is this taken in advance in regards to gambling? You stake say £100 on a horse and you get the "full" £100 stake, wheres the 17% vat?