Taxes?

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MrSpot

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I just finished reading the Iron Man post by TPC, and in the opening line it states "Time to quit playing poker and start taking it for real" (I may have slightly misquoted that but I think the idea is still there). It talks about treating it as a part time job. Now that I have this thought in my head it made me wonder about how taxes work for playing poker. I am in the US and I wasn't sure how it worked for someone who plays and wins regularly. Well actually for anyone really.

On a side note can anyone tell me how to adjust the stats in the upper right corner of your posts, such as the location where you play at and that sort of thing. I had a bit of a look around but couldn't find it.

Cheers
https://www.cardschat.com/forum/learning-poker-57/time-quit-playing-poker-start-taking-172392/
 
WVHillbilly

WVHillbilly

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If you win $$ online (whether winnings, rakeback, or bonuses) you have to claim it as income. You have to list winnings and losses separately (use PT3 or HEM) and you can not deduct losses beyond what you win (different if you list professional poker player as your profession).
 
jernest

jernest

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On a side note can anyone tell me how to adjust the stats in the upper right corner of your posts, such as the location where you play at and that sort of thing. I had a bit of a look around but couldn't find it.


On the top left hand side of the page is a link "User CP" click on that and it will bring you to your "User Control Panel" there is a section midway down the page, and on the left that is titled settings and options (or some such). You can choose from a variety of settings and what not to change, update, or what have you.

GL
 
tpb221

tpb221

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What jernest said. It's under 'edit profile'. If you answer the ?'s there some of them show up in your posts. Like- Location-fav game-fave site.

Your ? about taxes is a little bit harder to ansewer. First, no matter what if you win at poker-even a $1 you must report it on your income taxes.
How you report it depends if your a 'pro' or not. Best to let a accountant handle it until you learn how to do your own taxes with poker winning on it.
Here's a few links to look over:

http://www.onlinepokerfaq.com/guide/us-taxes.html

http://www.pokerdeductions.com/index.php

You might what to use the search function upper right of this page as there have been several threads about taxes and poker.

Good luck on the felts.
 
-Phil Ivey27

-Phil Ivey27

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Never though of the tax thing, seems very complicated.

Best to keep it a secret :D

I wonder if you do, what could they do if they found out? Just claim the tax money you would be owing?
 
onebourbon

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I have the ultimate tax solution and get ya healthy at the same time! Home based business allows you to write off like 30% of your car expenses, groceries,,,boooze....lol...whatever it takes to entertain your customers ;)
 
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Pothole

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I have the ultimate tax solution and get ya healthy at the same time! Home based business allows you to write off like 30% of your car expenses, groceries,,,boooze....lol...whatever it takes to entertain your customers ;)

Not quite right, you can only claim the percentage of your cars expenses you use for business, 50% for food ( eaten in restaurants ), 100% for booze given as a gift. However, taxes are not payable on poker winnings in canada. Best suggestion,,,,,move here.:D
 
norriscjn

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Do people really pay taxes on there winnings. Its not even leagal in the US so why even claim it on taxes?
 
TPC

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Poker is legal in the US. It's illegal for banks to process deposits and withdrawals for online wagering.

It is your duty to report all income earned every year when you file your taxes.
 
WVHillbilly

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Do people really pay taxes on there winnings. Its not even leagal in the US so why even claim it on taxes?

1st - Like TPC said above it's not illegal in US to play online poker.

2nd - No matter how you earned your money (even if you're a drug dealer) you're supposed to pay taxes on it. Remember Al Capone didn't get arrested for murder or running alcohol during prohibition, he went to jail for not paying taxes on his earnings.
 
onebourbon

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Not quite right, you can only claim the percentage of your cars expenses you use for business, 50% for food ( eaten in restaurants ), 100% for booze given as a gift. However, taxes are not payable on poker winnings in Canada. Best suggestion,,,,,move here.:D

hehe...if you have a home based business 30% of everything including toiletries are expenses....I wasn't talking about poker $ - of course all lottery and gaming $ are tax free up here! Was just saying......cool way to get back a few $ every year :)
 
-Phil Ivey27

-Phil Ivey27

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so that brings this question up.

who here has withdrew winnings and paid taxes on them/filed them in their reports?
 
WVHillbilly

WVHillbilly

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so that brings this question up.

who here has withdrew winnings and paid taxes on them/filed them in their reports?

Withdrawal doesn't have anything to do with paying. Once you win it, you owe taxes on it, even if it's just growing your BR.

As to your question, I have, but I'd say if you haven't, you probably shouldn't answer.
 
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TheWall

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I would assume that for the majority of microstakes players this is pretty irrelevent. Most don't even win and those that do only hardly make enough to worry about.
 
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