There are at least two ways to enter this information into TurboTax.
One, you can enter the search term "gambling
losses" into your TurboTax program, using the Search / Find box near the top of your page . Please use these exact two words even if you did not lose any money gambling.
Next, click on the gambling
losses Jump To link that will appear in the search results. You
will then be taken to a screen that says something similar to the
following: "Tell Us
About Your Winnings." From there, you can enter your actual gambling
winnings and losses, whether or not you received a W2-G.
Two, you can follow this data entry pathway in your TurboTax program:
Federal Taxes -> Wages and Income -> Choose Jump to Full List, or I'll choose what I work on -> Less Common Income -> Gambling Winnings -> Click on the Start or Update button
You may also find this TurboTax webpage informative:
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1895431-form-w-2g-certain-gambling-winnings
However, once you've found the right place to enter your gambling losses, and have done so, you need to be aware of some important facts.
First, it is
important to understand that gambling losses are deductible only to the extent
of gambling winnings. Second, gambling
losses are only deductible if a taxpayer has enough itemized deductions, in
total, to exceed the standard deduction for their filing status.
For example, in
2016, a Married Filing Jointly couple under age 65 has to have at least $12,600
or more in total itemized deductions in order to itemize them and see any
actual tax reduction benefit. Unless
they have more than $12,600 in deductions, they are better off using the
standard deduction of $12,600 (TurboTax automatically makes this determination
in the software).
Hopefully that makes things clear, and you won't have any trouble entering your losses.
Thank you for
asking this important question.
