A Tax Situation
 

Poker is my full time job

During the month of October I broke up with my girlfriend. During this month I went a little nutz. I ended up cashing out about 30k from my bank account which is from poker winnings this year in about 2 weeks, I blew the entire 30k at the casino playing blackjack and high limit poker drunk.

Now I am a bit more sane and when I gamble I play correctly. So I was talking to my accountant and i asked him if i could deduct the 30k from my gambling winnings. He asked me if I had anything saying from the casino stating that I had lost the money. I told him no. He informed me that the IRS would have a tough time believing this story, and that I should pay taxes on the 30k. I do believe that my accountant believes that I am making this up, however i honestly did lose 30k and since gambling losses are deductable up to your winnings there is no way in hell I am going to pay tax on that 30k.

Comments?

Re: A Tax Situation
 

[ QUOTE ]
Poker is my full time job

During the month of October I broke up with my girlfriend. During this month I went a little nutz. I ended up cashing out about 30k from my bank account which is from poker winnings this year in about 2 weeks, I blew the entire 30k at the casino playing blackjack and high limit poker drunk.

Now I am a bit more sane and when I gamble I play correctly. So I was talking to my accountant and i asked him if i could deduct the 30k from my gambling winnings. He asked me if I had anything saying from the casino stating that I had lost the money. I told him no. He informed me that the IRS would have a tough time believing this story, and that I should pay taxes on the 30k. I do believe that my accountant believes that I am making this up, however i honestly did lose 30k and since gambling losses are deductable up to your winnings there is no way in hell I am going to pay tax on that 30k.

Comments?

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I am sure the casino has records of you losing 30k. Talk to them.

Re: A Tax Situation
 

Feel free to claim the 30k deduction. Perhaps create a journal or some sort of written record showing the losses. However, do know that it will greatly increase you chances of getting auditted, and they probably won't allow the deduction if they do audit you.

Re: A Tax Situation
 

[ QUOTE ]
Poker is my full time job

During the month of October I broke up with my girlfriend. During this month I went a little nutz. I ended up cashing out about 30k from my bank account which is from poker winnings this year in about 2 weeks, I blew the entire 30k at the casino playing blackjack and high limit poker drunk.

Now I am a bit more sane and when I gamble I play correctly. So I was talking to my accountant and i asked him if i could deduct the 30k from my gambling winnings. He asked me if I had anything saying from the casino stating that I had lost the money. I told him no. He informed me that the IRS would have a tough time believing this story, and that I should pay taxes on the 30k. I do believe that my accountant believes that I am making this up, however i honestly did lose 30k and since gambling losses are deductable up to your winnings there is no way in hell I am going to pay tax on that 30k.

Comments?

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I'm pretty sure you can record the losses yourself on paper, and there're your records (Its not like you'd be forging fake records, since this did in fact happen, you probably don't even have to backdate them, just date them today, and then make a list of all your withdrawals/losses, etc.) It shouldn't be too hard, I'm sure if you think really hard you can remember almost all of your losing sessions and how much you lost. (I know I almost never forget a losing session in a casino) Since this actually did happen, the recorded losses along with your bank statements showing that you withdrew 30k will probably help. I think you should really talk to a different accountant, this sounds like silly advice.

Re: A Tax Situation
 

your accountant sucks...get a new one

Re: A Tax Situation
 

If this really happened:

1. Create a record of your losses. Note time/date/amount of your sessions.
2. Take the deduction.
3. Talk to the Pit Boss where you were playing blackjack.
Talk to the cage or the floor or the brush to back up your story of losing. I'm sure someone at the casino remembers somebody dropping 30k, has some record (points on a comp card?), and will be willing to vouch.
4. Fire your accountant.

Re: A Tax Situation
 

Casino Arizona is one of the worst to try and get a gaming loss statement from. However, the IRS rules say you need to keep a journal - with names, so drive back down to the club and look at some name badges and you should be all set.

Dogmeat [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

Re: A Tax Situation
 

do you go to casino arizona dogmeat?

Re: A Tax Situation
 

I assume you used a card to track your play at the casino. Even a drunken fool likes comps, and you don't get them without the card. It would seem to me that they would have to have a record of your play.

Re: A Tax Situation
 

Call the casino, ask for thier tax department, request a tax statement. This works perfectly well if you used a players card, otherwise you had better prepare an accurate log of your play, preferable with witnesses.