form w2 G

[Bearhawk]

   I entered several W2 Gs from my wife slot winnings.  Each one added to the tax I owe.  At the end I applied her losses to cover her winnings but the winnings still showed up as income and the additional taxes didn't go away.  What happened to the loss deductions?

[DoninGA]

The losses reported cannot be more than the winnings.  The losses are entered on Schedule A as an itemized deduction.  The total of all your itemized deductions on Schedule A must be greater than the standard deduction for your filing status to have any tax benefit.

Standard deductions for 2021

• Single - $12,550 add $1,700 if age 65 or older
• Married Filing Separately - $12,550 add $1,350 if age 65 or older
• Married Filing Jointly - $25,100 add $1,350 for each spouse age 65 or older
• Head of Household - $18,800 add $1,700 if age 65 or older

[JohnB5677 · Accepted solution]

Gambling losses are listed as Itemized deductions for tax purposes. I suspect you got the standard deduction which is $25,100 for a married couple filing jointly.  If the $25,100 is larger than the sum of all of your Itemized deductions, the higher amount will be taken.

So you did post the gambling losses, but the standard deduction was the better alternative.