I do monthly summaries. I'll give that to the tax person at the end of the year and tell them to be creative. They can make each month a session for all I care. It's still the same amount of money either way.

How come the taxes are different for 30K profit, vs 60K wins minus 30K loses?

<Doesn't care, would LOVE to have the problem of how to figure out taxes on $30K winnings...>

You think the government would give me a break, since all the money I'm winning is coming from people in other countries. I'm solving the national debt crisis all by myself. Thank you prima.

Im not a tax expert, but I know when you take deducttions, its not dollar for dollar like your income is. You only get credit for a certain percentage of you write offs.

If you use turbo tax, you can play around with different combinations and you'll see what I mean.

Dangerous question....

How many people here don't/won't claim thier gambling winnings? I know a lot of you guys play at stakes that are going to give you 10k+ earnings in a year, so do you all hire a tax accountant to help you do the paperwork behind it all? I am on the line of having to do this myself, in fact I've got money in Neteller that I want to move but it will put me over the 10k mark (for the year - made in serveral smaller transactions) so this is of particular interest to me. Last year I cashed out a good amount (just shy of 10k) that I wasn't sure about and didn't end up claiming.. I know I'm not alone in that boat (not claiming) but I don't need to worry about the IRS seizing my belongings along with everyday stress. So what is everyone doind here and what do you recommend I do for this year?

p.s. I have a full time job as a programmer so this isn't my only, or even main, source of income.

Try to report something, at least your profit.

Not reporting at all is fraud.

Reporting incorrectly MAY just lead to an adjustment of your tax liability that you would have to pay.

Aren't tax deductions just like not having (making) the money in the first place?

For instance, the interest I pay on my home mortgage (say 8k per year) comes right off the top of my income for tax purposes. It's like I never made that 8k. I'm not taxed on it, so it's just not there.

So if I had this wonderful dilemma of winning 30k a year at poker (as if), but I could show that as really 60k in winnings but 30k in losses, and those losses are deductions just like mortgage interest, well, then I really can count the 30k as a "net" (and give the government somewhere between $7,500 and $10k, just for being honest).

If I ever manage to get to the point where I have a bankroll worthy of withdrawing something with a comma in it, I'll certainly talk to a tax attourney or accountant, just to be sure.

Just don't mess with the government when you might owe them money. They get really cranky about that.

Tokenizor, why are you mentioning this $10K? There is no threshold for legally reporting winnings. If you win $1, you are suppossed to report it, so what does $10k have to do with anything.

The only significance that $10K might have is that banks are required to report any transactions over $10K which helps the authorities keep track of drug traffickers and money launderers. It has no bearing on tax requirements.

BigPhish, do you use turbotax? Do your taxes both ways and you'll see what I mean.

I'm just gonna give it to an accountant and hope for the best. I want to fairly report all my earnings...this is my profession afterall. I owe tax just as much as someone with a regular job.