Poker winnings are earned income -- cardplayer article
 

According to Mike Sexton's latest article in Cardplayer, poker winnings are considered to be "earned income", and can be used for retirement accounts, etc...

I know awhile back we pretty much all thought it was unearned income... does anyone know for sure?

link

Re: Poker winnings are earned income -- cardplayer article
 

anyone knowledgeable about tax law? when i went to my accountant, he said it was not considered earned income and could therefore not be used to fund my roth ira.

is this still true, becuase now im stuck working a shitty bank job to make the cash to put into the roth. i wouldnt need to work if i could call this money earned.

-light

Re: Poker winnings are earned income -- cardplayer article
 

[ QUOTE ]
anyone knowledgeable about tax law? when i went to my accountant, he said it was not considered earned income and could therefore not be used to fund my roth ira.

is this still true, becuase now im stuck working a shitty bank job to make the cash to put into the roth. i wouldnt need to work if i could call this money earned.

-light

[/ QUOTE ]

believe it or not, some accountants are dumbasses.

Re: Poker winnings are earned income -- cardplayer article
 

so I see with poker income you cannot have a roth IRA, but I have but money in there from poker earnings for 2 year. What should I do now?

Re: Poker winnings are earned income -- cardplayer article
 

If your poker income goes on Sched. C then it's earned.

Re: Poker winnings are earned income -- cardplayer article
 

A professional filing for any business on Schedule C is considered to have earned income. The gambling as a source makes no difference here.

The previous discussion was in relation to gambling income and the foreign earned income exclusion. Gambling income is specifically listed as unearned income for that purpose only. There was never any question that a Schedule C gambler would qualify for all of the other benefits (retirement contributions, etc.) that any other business has access to.

Re: Poker winnings are earned income -- cardplayer article
 

No, "we" didn't mostly think it was unearned. The posts here over the past two years regarding taxes on poker winning almost all deal with the idea that it is "earned" income. The questions posted here usually are with regard to whether a player can file as a professional (and the also often popular "do I have to pay at all" posts).

All I know about the IRS and gambling winnings is that I have paid them over many years (I have also had "standard income jobs") and they never mind taking my money. I have also deducted expenses most of those years (travel, hotels, entry fees, etc.) and I've never had a problem. Maybe I am just blessed.

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