Tax laws on online poker profits

Does anyone know the exact tax laws in the USA on poker profits earned online? Let's say you win a big online tournament and make $60,000 sometime in mid november. Let's assume, also, that up until that point you had had a losing year, say to to the tune of $12,000. Assume you can prove this with hand histories, deposits and what not. Let's also assume that you lost another $10,000 in poker in live casinos? How much do you owe uncle sam?

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Does anyone know the exact tax laws in the USA on poker profits earned online?

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IMHO, a gambling forum is not the place to seek tax advice. If you are actually dealing in those kinds of numbers, then pull out a few hundred bucks out of your wallet, hire a reputable CPA, and rest assured that he/she will protect your interests with the feds. If you are actually making that kind of money online (e.g., >$40K-50K per year), then it may be worth finding a CPA who is also an attorney specializing in tax matters.

Good luck.

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Does anyone know the exact tax laws in the USA on poker profits earned online? Let's say you win a big online tournament and make $60,000 sometime in mid november. Let's assume, also, that up until that point you had had a losing year, say to to the tune of $12,000. Assume you can prove this with hand histories, deposits and what not. Let's also assume that you lost another $10,000 in poker in live casinos? How much do you owe uncle sam?

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I have yet to make anything close to 60 grand in a single tournament, however i have played in tournaments whose top prize paid out this much or more, and on one occasion i placed in the top 20 and was probably only 1 or 2 lucky breaks away from making the FT.

I already have a very good CPA that I see every year for my taxes, so in the event that i were to ring up a serious profit like that i'd obviously consult him.

In the meantime however, i lose nothing by asking this forum, as there are plenty of intelligent people here, many of whom play poker for a living, so i feel there's a pretty high probability that i get answers with spot-on accurate info and certainly dont lose anything.

Also, this could be one of those grey-area tax issues, so instead of just talking to my CPA, i'd be curious to hear if there are more than one take on this issue.

This is why i posed the question to this forum.

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You can run a search, some of this info is here. Also run a google, I definitely found something on the internet. The thing I found most interesting is that you cannot take your profits subtract your losses. You must list each session and itemize each loss as a deduction. (Don't quote me on that; that's just how I understood it.)

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This is pretty simple...

Like everyone else has said...get a CPA.

Recreational Gambler: Total of all winning sessions - Total of all losing sessions

Professional Gambler: Net of above

Of course, there are other specifics you need to know but leave that to your CPA.

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