Solo 401(k)'s to defer gambling income?

Has anyone considered a solo 401(k) to shelter their gambling income? According to this article, a solo 401(k) allows a self-employed person (with no employees) to defer taxes on $14,000 + 20-25% of the rest of their self-employment income. This would be perfect for me, because I have a day job that pays for all my expenses. My poker income will be around $15,000 this year and I've mostly invested it in the stock market. I had planned on saving my poker income for retirement even before I found out about the solo 401(k).

Here's my questions:
1) Can gamblers who file as professionals take advantage of the solo 401(k)?
2) Can a person have both a 401(k) at their day job and a solo 401(k)?
3) Is there a max-contribution limit for the two 401(k)'s combined?
4) Are there any income limits?
5) Are there any good books on solo 401(k)'s and like plans?

I'll probably pull in around $60K from my dayjob this year if that makes a difference.

[wdcbooks]

1.) Yes they can. You can also use a SEP IRA which has very similar features.

2.) Yes, there is no coordination of limts. There used to be rules that aggregated all plans to come to a limit. The IRS no longer does that.

3.) The limits are separate. So for next year if your main job has a limit of $15,000 for employee contributions you can do that. The solo 401k can allow contributions of up to $42,000.

4.) There are no income limits. I assume you are talking about income caps like you would find with the Roth IRA. Your profit sharing contribution is capped at 25% of income, and you can make a salary reduction contribution up to $15,000 next year regardless of income.

5.) I don't know of any books, but Morningstar is always a good resource. You may also want to speak with a financial advisor who handles small business plans. You will pay a fee, but this is one area where finding the right plan and structuring it correctly is probably worth the price.

As an aside I wish more gamblers would look into this. No matter how successful you are I would suspect that the great majority of players and posters will have nothing substantive to show for their poker income ten years from now. Treat this as income and prepare a bit for the future.

[gisb0rne]

Don't you have to declare (and prove) yourself to be a professional gambler in order to qualify? Or can you have a regular job and just sock your gambling winnings away in this? Also, isn't there significant tax cost to being a professional gambler in the sense that you have to pay Social Security or equivalent on your earnings?

Thanks for the reply. Do you know of any good financial advisors or CPAs or the like in the Seattle area?