Re: Clarifications about Tax
To answer your questions as simply as possible:
1) Not necessarily. A professional will have self employment taxes. A nonprofessional player might still pay taxes at a net of $10k, if the winning sessions are high enough to cause phaseouts to kick in. A recreational player would have to play at fairly high limits in order to cause the sessions to work out in this way. Also, if your parents are still claiming you as a dependent on their return, then your will start paying taxes at a lower number.
Finally, don't confuse a tax liability with the need to file a tax return. You should file a tax return even with lower amounts of income because the statute of limitations does not begin on an unfiled tax return. There is no reason to give the IRS an unlimited time to ask questions about your income.
2) Similar to number 1, except that "poker expenses" would only apply to a professional gambler. Due to self-employment taxes, you would need to pay taxes at a much lower level of income.
3) The tax tear is the calendar year for you.
4) Your age and the legality of gambling have no impact on the taxability of your gambling winnings.
5) You should file a tax return, even if the tax that you owe at the end is zero because of the reason listed in answer 1.
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