[Nomad84]

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I agree that paying taxes on gambling winnings is an area with a lot of gray and all that. I had another question. I have been playing poker "recreationally" for a few years before I started giving the game any seriousness, therefore I was more of a loser than a winner. Do we get to disount these losses when filing? Now that I am winning more than losing, do I report winnings? The thing is, I did not file in the years that I lost money, so I'm not sure on that matter although I have heard that you can claim a deduction on gambling losses. Confused, Mike

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Technically, you are supposed to report any winning sessions, even if you only had one winning session during the entire year (at least according to my understanding). The fact that you are a net loser during a given year does not exempt you from reporting you winning sessions. It simply allows you to deduct your losing sessions up to the amount of your gross winnings. This means that if you take the standard deduction, you'll end up paying taxes for gambling winnings even though you lost money over the course of the year. It's not fair, but that's how it is, I believe. Also, I'm pretty sure you cannot carry forward deductions from gambling losses from year to year.