Poker as Taxable Income

[Namdrahsirhc]

Ive been thinking about how professional poker players deal with the IRS. Is gambling taxable income? If so how does one go about proving how much one made (or didnt make) in any given year. Looking for responses from anyone who has poker as their main source of income. Any comments appreciated

[Seijuro]

It doesn't count as taxable income in the UK. God knows if it's taxable for yanky doodle dandys though. I too would be interested in finding out.

[tek]

Tournament winnings are taxable (they give you a W2G).

Cash game winnings are usually not taxable. If you win over 10k they'll probably ask for your numbers.

[bobbyi]

[ QUOTE ]
Tournament winnings are taxable (they give you a W2G).

Cash game winnings are usually not taxable. If you win over 10k they'll probably ask for your numbers.

[/ QUOTE ]
You seem to be confusing things for which you are required to fill out forms with things that are taxable. If you make money playing poker, it is income and you are legally obligated to pay taxes on it (in the US).

[Niediam]

Yes gambling income is without a doubt taxible in the US.

The IRS requires a professional gambler to keep an up to date book with various information such as addresses, amount won/lost, people who you were with, etc.

There are literally dozens of threads in the 'Internet Gambling' forum about this.

[tek]

Maybe you internet players have to pay taxes on your cash game winnings becuase you have an audit trail.

In live B&M cash games, there is no audit trail. You cash in and cash out. End of story. Only if you win more than 10k in a 24 hour period cumulaative in the same casino do you have an audit trail.

And as I said before, live poker tourneys will W2G you for any amount you win at the final table.

[BugsBunny]

You're confusing an audit trail with "is it legally taxable income". It's true that there's no audit trail. It's also true that it's still legally taxable income. Now will you get caught if you don't report it? That's another issue altogether.

[defyodds]

all gambling income is taxable. you can file gambling losses up to the amount of your winnings. You must keep accurate records. There is some confusion about what is a session (such as if you change tables, or limits, or games on one visit to a casino). You should do a search on this forum and maybe some others to get more info. Whether you report your winnings or not, does not exclude them from being subject to taxes.

[Niediam]

Please note though that you cannot deduct your losses unless you itemize your deductions.

The IRS has made fairly clear rulings as to what constitutes a session for casino play. However, the definition of a session for online play is ambiguous at best.

[defyodds]

--what is the "fairly clear" definition of a session. you are correct about the itemized deduction.