Gambling Winnings for 2018

[nightrider007]

cmelcher52384,

I think there is a total misunderstanding of this particular discussion / thread where people are thinking that this thread is referring to the way you file your annual gambling - That is NOT what this discussion is about.

This discussion / thread is NOT about regular annual gambling reporting it is about a very special situation where your W2Gs will not match what you are reporting on your taxes e.g. called "SESSION" reporting - 99.9% of gamblers will NOT use this "SESSION" method. 

The only reason you would need to include a letter referring to Supreme Court case is if you are doing this very special, NOT normal, "SESSION" reporting (read about that in the beginning of this thread and my post about it).

If you are just filing, as recreational gambler, normal gambling annual win/loss statements and W2Gs then you can e-file and NOT include anything but the totals entered into the tax program for W2Gs & Other Income offset by gambling loss - no reason to paper file or include any court case.  I have e-filed for over 10+ years, WITHOUT, any issue.

AGAIN - This discussion / thread about is about a very special circumstance where you win like $100,000 and lose -$100,000 on the same day (24 hour period) and do not want to claim the W2G on your taxes as income (you have to read this tread from the start)

I think people see the word session and think that is about basic normal day to day gambling but "SESSION" reporting is a very special circumstance.

Normal gamblers can just total the numbers (W2Gs, Other Income & Gambling loss) and e-file without anything special.

Please review this thread from the start to see what this discussion is all about and I think confusing regular day to day gamblers filing there taxes.

[cmelcher52384]

There is absolutely zero confusion on my part: I am reporting session reporting. I have 20 W2Gs I am not reporting, because I am doing the session method. 

[DaveF1006]

It depends. As a FYI,  there is no way to report a session method in Turbo Tax. You would need to report your W2G's but you can combine the W2G's that are part of the same gaming establishment that has the same EIN. 

After entering the W2G information, there will be a summary screen showing the W2G's that have been entered. Then a screen appears asking if you have gambling income that does not appear on a W2G. Then there will be a screen asking you to enter your combined gambling losses that offset your income reported on the W2G. When you enter this, the losses will appear as other itemized deductions as  gambling losses in Line 16 in Schedule A, itemized deductions.

As an FYI, if you are unable to itemize, then you will not be able to claim your losses.

[cmelcher52384]

I really, and truly am not trying to be a jerk, but as a couple other people have said,  the “tax experts” need to not reply to this thread unless they understand how this works.

The whole point of session reporting is that you do not report your W2s on your taxes. You only report the actual total profitable nights that you had at the casino.

the question at hand is really on the backend and when the IRS will reach out to try to find out why you did not report those W-2Gs. Several posts above specific legal language was provided to enclose with a paper file of the taxes. I think several of us want to understand how we can Efile and which steps we might take on the back end to proactively inform the IRS we are using the session method

[DawnC]

If you want to e-file, you cannot attach anything.   The best option is to summarize your entries in TurboTax so that you can e-file.   It doesn't matter if you use the Gambling winnings on a W-2G entry or the Other winnings not on a W-2 - it all goes to the same place on the tax return.

Always keep detailed records.   In the event, the IRS sends you an inquiry, you can provide the details then, either as a printed out document you can mail or you can use the IRS Document Upload to upload your spreadsheet directly to the IRS.   @cmelcher52384 

[dhuber24]

@ldawn513can you elaborate on how you do this?

"I enter those amounts in the gambling losses section of tax program."

I have entered my gambling session wins on the "Other Miscellaneous Taxable Income" section in TurboTax. But I am struggling trying to enter my session losses in the gambling losses section. Did you have to "trick" TurboTax somehow to allow you to enter losses, since you aren't reporting W2G's in the program?

I tried to make a direct entry on Schedule A, but TurboTax only offers question prompts on medical expenses and doesn't let me add my own line item for the gambling session losses.

[BillH54]

https://easy.vegas/gambling/taxes#sources

All the details needed are listed at this link. Make sure you include Form 8275 and MAKE SURE you have a gambling session log !!