[jman220]

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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.