I went to Vegas recently and played black jack to my heart's content. In the process, I won approximately $10,000. I'm keeping my winnings for now but if I do come back (and I will), what happens if I lose my money that was previously earned? Do I only report my accumulated money after all my gains and losses come tax time?
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Tax Professional Answers
Kathryn Morgan
You must report all your winnings (even if you did not get a W2G) as income on line 21 of your 1040. Your documented losses (documented being the operative word) may be deducted on line 28 of the Sch A, Itemized Deductions, up to but not exceeding the amount of winnings.
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561 weeks ago
Michael Baum, EA
Just a minor clarification to Kathryn's answer. Your total itemized deductions need to exceed the standard deduction for you to actually be able to deduct the losses. If you don't have either mortgage interest and/or income taxes or real estate taxes, more than likely you will not have enough total itemized deductions. However, you will still have to report the income.
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560 weeks ago