# Taxing Gambling Winnings **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943 "2007-10-16T20:39:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/1 "2007-10-16T20:39:43Z")
If I go to Las Vegas next week and immediately hit a slot machine jackpot and win $100,000, I have to pay income tax on that $100,000. But suppose I then step over to a craps table and lose the $100,000. Do I still have to pay taxes on it? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/2 "2007-10-16T20:47:31Z")
Generally, no. Gambling losses are deductible to the extent of gambling winnings. So: Win $100,000 and lose $100,00 = net 0. Win $100,000 and lose $200,00 = net 0 (not a -$100,000). Win $200,000 and lose $100,00 = net $100,000. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/3 "2007-10-16T21:00:54Z")
[QUOTE=Ronald C. Semone] If I go to Las Vegas next week and immediately hit a slot machine jackpot and win $100,000, I have to pay income tax on that $100,000. But suppose I then step over to a craps table and lose the $100,000. Do I still have to pay taxes on it? [/QUOTE] **Bricker** is correct but the way that it would work is as follows. You’d hit the $100k jackpot but you’d only get a check for around $65k with the rest going to the IRS. You would get a 1099 from the casino at the beginning of the next year to use for your taxes. Any gambling losses could be written off against the $100k when you filed your taxes and you would get some of what was taken away as a refund. You’d better be able to back up those losses if you get audited so keep your receipts. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/4 "2007-10-16T23:21:11Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] **Bricker** is correct but the way that it would work is as follows. You’d hit the $100k jackpot but you’d only get a check for around $65k with the rest going to the IRS. You would get a 1099 from the casino at the beginning of the next year to use for your taxes. Any gambling losses could be written off against the $100k when you filed your taxes and you would get some of what was taken away as a refund. You’d better be able to back up those losses if you get audited so keep your receipts. [/QUOTE] How do you get a receipt at a craps table? ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/5 "2007-10-16T23:53:29Z")
[QUOTE=KRM] How do you get a receipt at a craps table? [/QUOTE] A good way to go about this is to get a player’s card from the casino, and give it to the dealer when you buy in. In addition to ensuring that your play is rated for comps (free stuff), the casino will also keep track of your money bet, won, and lost, and will provide you with a record of this upon request if you chance upon a reportable win (in Las Vegas, $1,200 or more). ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/6 "2007-10-17T00:08:35Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] **Bricker** is correct but the way that it would work is as follows. You’d hit the $100k jackpot but you’d only get a check for around $65k with the rest going to the IRS. You would get a 1099 from the casino at the beginning of the next year to use for your taxes. Any gambling losses could be written off against the $100k when you filed your taxes and you would get some of what was taken away as a refund. You’d better be able to back up those losses if you get audited so keep your receipts. [/QUOTE] Jesus. In the UK there is no tax on any winnings from any form of gambling I know of. The Inland Revenue has always run shy of this policy because if it taxed winnings it would have to allow losses. Losses always exceed profits. This keeps casinos and bookmakers in business. Naturally, as business enterprises, said casinos and bookmakers pay tax on _their_ profits in the normal way. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/7 "2007-10-17T00:15:17Z")
Note that in Vegas, if you had won that $100K at the craps table, it would be tax-free. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/8 "2007-10-17T00:19:52Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Note that in Vegas, if you had won that $100K at the craps table, it would be tax-free. [/QUOTE] How so? It’s income. It’s taxed. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/9 "2007-10-17T00:25:49Z")
I suppose it might not have tax withheld from it – the IRS only takes its cut with a big payoff, so if you won $1000 ten times at craps, then you’d have $100,000 in cash. But you still owe taxes on it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/10 "2007-10-17T00:29:32Z")
Rephrase: You don’t have to _report_ it at all. Taxable it is, but since you don’t have to report table winnings, most people don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/11 "2007-10-17T00:33:06Z")
Yep, the only time I’ve seen them confiscate part of a player’s winnings was on a slot jackpot. The reason is, you might have started with $100,000 at the crap table, or already be down $100,000, they don’t keep track of it. On a slot, they know how much it took to win the jackpot. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/12 "2007-10-17T01:12:21Z")
[QUOTE=Chez Guevara] Losses always exceed profits. This keeps casinos and bookmakers in business. [/QUOTE] Yes, but as has been said, you can’t write off any losses in excess of the winnings. > [@silenus](#): > > Rephrase: You don’t have to report it at all. Taxable it is, but since you don’t have to report table winnings, most people don’t. Well, legally you do have to report it but since the IRS has no way to find out you probably won’t get caught. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/13 "2007-10-17T01:21:21Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Rephrase: You don’t have to _report_ it at all. [/QUOTE] You couldn’t be more wrong. > **[Topic no. 419, Gambling income and losses | Internal Revenue Service](https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419)** > > Topic No. 419 Gambling Income and Losses “All gambling winnings must be reported irrespective as to whether any portion thereof is subject to withholding.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/14 "2007-10-17T01:37:05Z")
[QUOTE=Ravenman] You couldn’t be more wrong. > **[Topic no. 419, Gambling income and losses | Internal Revenue Service](https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419)** > > Topic No. 419 Gambling Income and Losses “All gambling winnings must be reported irrespective as to whether any portion thereof is subject to withholding.” [/QUOTE] “Where there is no cop, there is no speed limit.” If the casino doesn’t make me fill out a form at the table, then what the IRS desires is irrelevant. They can’t prove I finished the session ahead, so screw them. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/15 "2007-10-17T02:06:19Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] “Where there is no cop, there is no speed limit.” If the casino doesn’t make me fill out a form at the table, then what the IRS desires is irrelevant. They can’t prove I finished the session ahead, so screw them. [/QUOTE] Ever been through an audit? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/16 "2007-10-17T02:53:36Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] “Where there is no cop, there is no speed limit.” If the casino doesn’t make me fill out a form at the table, then what the IRS desires is irrelevant. They can’t prove I finished the session ahead, so screw them. [/QUOTE] That doesn’t change the fact that you’re giving factually incorrect answers in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/17 "2007-10-17T03:01:24Z")
No, the _theory_ is that the winnings are taxable. The _fact_ is that the IRS doesn’t even try to collect on table winnings. There is a large difference between what the law says and what really happens. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/18 "2007-10-17T03:23:37Z")
I don’t care to debate what you think is practical or not. You said: [QUOTE=silenus] Note that **in Vegas** , if you had won that $100K at the craps table, it would be **tax-free.** [/QUOTE] Which is wrong on two counts. It is taxable income and the law does not exempt Las Vegas. Then you say: > [@silenus](#): > > Rephrase: **You don’t have to report it at all.** Taxable it is, but **since you don’t have to report table winnings,** most people don’t. In which you admit one of your errors and then twice throw in the same erroneous information. The IRS says you have to report it. Whether you do or not is irrelevant to the OP and clearly not what you said in either post. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/19 "2007-10-17T03:27:11Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] No, the _theory_ is that the winnings are taxable. The _fact_ is that the IRS doesn’t even try to collect on table winnings. There is a large difference between what the law says and what really happens. [/QUOTE] They pay you with a check, right? So how do you account for that extra $100,000 sitting around when you get audited? Unless you get it in cash and leave it in a sock drawer, it’s pretty much findable in an audit, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943/20 "2007-10-17T05:38:10Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] Yes, but as has been said, you can’t write off any losses in excess of the winnings. [/QUOTE] Sorry, I somehow missed **Bricker** ’s earlier comment. I now see the financial advantage for the IRS. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-gambling-winnings/422943.md?page=2)