topic I got a CP2000 that says I claimed under Other Income -- Gambling winnings of $19,276.00 they corrected it by get this number $19,275. Me thinks me smells a rat... in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

I got a CP2000 that says I claimed under Other Income -- Gambling winnings of $19,276.00 they corrected it by get this number $19,275. Me thinks me smells a rat...

kjpsu — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:36 GMT

Where did they get the almost excat same amount for Gambling winnings as what I claimed? $1 difference, really, they basically doubled my winnings, but I can get Win/Loss statements that show I lost a lot more than that...

By changing your gambling winnings shown on Form 1040 Lin...

DoninGA — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:38 GMT

By changing your gambling winnings shown on Form 1040 Line 21 by $1 will not change your tax refund or taxes you owe.
What else does the CP2000 notice indicate the IRS changed on your filed tax return?

What they did was add another $19,,275 to the $19,276 I c...

kjpsu — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:39 GMT

What they did was add another $19,,275 to the $19,276 I claimed, making it $38,551.00 where did they get almost the same exact amount I claimed from, I mean I claimed it and they doubled it, but I am getting Win/Loss statements for me and spouse and it will show we lost way more than the $38,551 ... along with the times we played and lost with out players cards in the system, we lost more than we won, so do I amend my return for 2015 or what?

You can only claim losses up to the amount you won, no mo...

kjpsu — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:41 GMT

You can only claim losses up to the amount you won, no more than that, so why did they just not ask first what our losses were?

You will need to contact the IRS using the phone number o...

DoninGA — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:42 GMT

You will need to contact the IRS using the phone number on the notice. It is very strange that the amount that was added is basically the exact amount that you reported. This very well could be an IRS error, it happens more than most people realize.

Tax line 43 Taxable income on retu...

kjpsu — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:44 GMT

Tax line 43
                       Taxable income on return                   as corrected by IRS                 Difference
                                       $168,629                                $187,904                              $19,275
Tax Line 44                      $34,268                                  $39,665                                  $5,397
Line 53 energy credit           $380                                       $380                                         $0
Non investment line 62b           $0                                          $1                                         $1
Total Tax line 63             $33,888                                   $39,286                                 $5,398

So they say Tax you owe                    $5,398
Payments                                                  $0
Understatement penalty                       $1,080
Interest                                                   $404

Amount due                                          $6,882

They are screwed up in the head, should I amend my retur...

kjpsu — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:45 GMT

They are screwed up in the head, should I amend my return to show the same amount as a loss as they are showing as winnings.....

No, do not do anything until you speak with an IRS agent....

DoninGA — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:46 GMT

No, do not do anything until you speak with an IRS agent. They will need to tell you how the extra $19,275 as shown was derived.

Did you actually enter the W-2G, or just claim it as Othe...

SweetieJean — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:48 GMT

Did you actually enter the W-2G, or just claim it as Other Income?

Eventually you can deduct the other losses, the reason th...

Opus 17 — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:49 GMT

Eventually you can deduct the other losses, the reason they don't show up on the assessment is that the IRS does not voluntarily assume you have offsetting losses.  The IRS basically never gives you free credit for a deduction, you have to prove it.

If this was an actual error by you where you forgot a W-2G, you would reply by preparing an amended return showing offsetting losses, no tax due, and sending it the office that sent the notice (not the usual amending address) along with a letter of explanation.

However in this case they seem to be double-counting your income.  You might want to start by getting a Wage and Income transcript for 2015, see here.  <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript">https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript</a>
Maybe the casino or lottery issued a duplicate W-2G.  If the IRS has two duplicate W-2Gs in the system, you would need to call the office that sent the notice and talk to someone.  If the IRS only has one in their system you still need to contact them because someone duplicated it somehow.

Don't actually send an amended return unless instructed to by the agent you spoke with.

However, DO document your phone call in a followup letter to the office that sent you the notice and that you called.  You only have until the deadline to contest this, otherwise it becomes final.  So for example, if you call and say, I only won once and you duplicated it, and the agent says "I will research it and get back to you", then write a letter that says, "This letter is a memo of a phone call I placed on _____.  I spoke to agent _____ and explained that I only won one time and the W-2G is duplicated in your system.  Agent ____ said they would research the issue and get back to me."  And send it using tracking and delivery confirmation.  That way there can be no doubt that you responded within the stated deadline.

@SweetieJean has a good point. Did you actually enter th...

Opus 17 — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:51 GMT

@SweetieJean has a good point. Did you actually enter the W-2G in turbotax with the casino tax # and everything? If not, they might have missed the fact that you reported it already. Make sure on your original return that the gambling income is on line 21, and that line 21 is the line they are changing in the notice.

You can also make an appointment to go to your local IRS...

SweetieJean — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:52 GMT

You can also make an appointment to go to your local IRS office.

No I never got a W-2G, I used whatever the casino gave m...

kjpsu — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:54 GMT

No I never got a W-2G, I used whatever the casino gave me each time one of us hit a jackpot over $1,200 (I think that is the magic number where they make you fill out the paper work, so I totaled those up and entered it under Other Income Line 21 $19,276, now I just did print a Win/Loss statement from just this oe casino and it says I myself lost $17,728.59 for tax year 2015, this does not include my spouses statement which she is going to get nor does it include, casinos in Biloxi, New Orleans, or Tunica... So I am guessing I did right but they got it wrong...

No, you entered the forms incorrectly. The statements you...

Opus 17 — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:55 GMT

No, you entered the forms incorrectly. The statements you got from the casinos WERE W-2G forms. Because you did not enter them as if they were W-2G's, but only entered them as other income, the IRS computer thinks that you ignored all of the W-2G forms that you actually received. You will need to write a letter to the IRS explaining what you did, and that you already reported the income but, just differently than they expected.

Thanks for the information everyone, I called and after...

kjpsu — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:57 GMT

Thanks for the information everyone, I called and after going thru all the different menus on the phone, plus then being on hold for an hour, the gentleman looked it all over and could not find where they got the additional $19,275 from.... He saw where I had claimed it already on Line 21 Other Income.... He told me to disregard the notice and he would be sending out another letter admitting their error and findings....

I am going to have to check and see but I am not exactly...

kjpsu — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:07:58 GMT

I am going to have to check and see but I am not exactly sure what the form is that the Indians made us fill out... Does TurboTax have an area for W-2G to enter the amounts....This will probably hit me again for 2016.....I want to be prepared for 2017....

To enter the W-2G or other documents For your Gambling w...

xmasbaby0 — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:08:00 GMT

To enter the W-2G or other documents For your Gambling winnings--Go to Federal>Wages & Income>Less Common Income>Gambling Winnings
You can enter your winnings, and then keep clicking through the interview to enter gambling losses.
Gambling losses are an itemized deduction; you can only get a deduction if the combination of all of your other itemized deductions exceeds your standard deduction. Losses do not offset winnings dollar for dollar.

The form you get at the casino may say "substitute W-2G"...

Opus 17 — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:08:01 GMT

The form you get at the casino may say "substitute W-2G" on it, or something similar, but it serves the same purpose.  It collects your name, address, SSN, amount of winnings, the casino name, address and tax number.

In the old days, you entered your gambling income on line 21 and then mailed copies of the W-2G to the IRS with your tax return along with copies of your W-2s from work.  Now that everything is electronic, the IRS expects you to enter the W-2 information which is electronically transmitted to the IRS and they match it up in the computer with the electronic versions of W-2s that are sent by payors like employers and casinos.

Because you just entered the net amount, the individual W-2Gs were never transmitted to the IRS for computer matching.  Since the dollar amount was $1 different, my guess is that the IRS and you rounded the figures slightly differently.  The computer looked at line 21 and saw that the amount was different, so it assumed you didn't report anything.  Likely that no human being actually reviewed the CP2000 notice before it was sent.  The human you spoke to understood what happened and it sounds like they will clear your record for you.

Gambling losses can only be deducted up to the amount of...

DoninGA — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:08:08 GMT

Gambling losses can only be deducted up to the amount of the gambling winnings. Gambling winnings are reported on Form 1040 Line 21 as Miscellaneous Income. Gambling Losses are reported on Form 1040 Schedule A as a Miscellaneous itemized deduction. Gambling losses are not a one-for-one reduction in winnings. Your total itemized deductions reported on Form 1040 Schedule A must be greater than the standard deduction for your filing status to have any tax benefit.

To enter, edit or delete Gambling Winnings and Losses -

Click on Federal Taxes (Personal using Home and Business)
Click on Wages and Income (Personal Income using Home and Business)
Click on I'll choose what I work on (if shown)
Scroll down to Less Common Income
On Gambling Winnings, click the start or update button

Or enter gambling winnings on w-2g in the Search/Find box in the upper right of the program screen. Click on Jump to gambling winnings on w-2g

Go to this IRS website for a blank Form W-2G Certain Gamb...

DoninGA — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:08:09 GMT

Go to this IRS website for a blank Form W-2G Certain Gambling Winnings - <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw2g.pdf">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw2g.pdf</a>