Originally Posted by TLO:
How do itemized deductions work? I've had years in the past where I won $10 or 15k in W2's at casinos. I never had taxes taken out so always had to pay up at tax time.
Is there something I could have done differently to avoid paying taxes? I obviously lost a lot more than I won.
There's a standard deduction that you get on your taxes, which is intended to offset the first $XX dollars of income (so if you have a very low income you don't pay taxes).
If you have allowable deductible expenses above that amount, you can check a different box, and instead of taking the standard deduction, you fill out a different form where you write in an itemized list of your allowable expenses (hence the term itemized deductions). You then deduct those from your income instead of the standard deduction. In the past, the big itemized expense was mortgage interest, but it also included things like charitable contributions and maybe medical expenses and stuff (and I think gambling losses up to the amount of winnings). I don't recall the specific allowable expenses.
A few years ago the feds raised the standard deduction a lot and narrowed the list of allowable expenses, so a lot of people, including me, switched from itemizing to doing the standard deduction. I don't know how common itemizing is these days. I would assume that homeowners with mortgages would still itemize if their interest is over the standard deduction.
If you won $10K or $15k gambling, my hunch is that you would be well-served to itemize and write off losses against those wins. The thing I'm not sure of is how you document the losses. You might have to keep some sort of receipts from the casinos about what you spent. [Reply]
I started gambling on sports about a year ago. I'm up around $6k since i started. But, that $6k has taken a ridiculous amount of research, time, and effort. Looking back I have to say it has not been worth it. Now that I live in California, I'm unable to place bets outside of DFS. So, I don't gamble anymore.
It's left a massive void in my life. I miss it terribly [Reply]
Originally Posted by ydub:
I started gambling on sports about a year ago. I'm up around $6k since i started. But, that $6k has taken a ridiculous amount of research, time, and effort. Looking back I have to say it has not been worth it. Now that I live in California, I'm unable to place bets outside of DFS. So, I don't gamble anymore.
It's left a massive void in my life. I miss it terribly
Damn. I actually find that it makes certain games more enjoyable. I guess maybe the key is just don’t let it consume you and see it as a little side fun. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ydub:
I started gambling on sports about a year ago. I'm up around $6k since i started. But, that $6k has taken a ridiculous amount of research, time, and effort. Looking back I have to say it has not been worth it. Now that I live in California, I'm unable to place bets outside of DFS. So, I don't gamble anymore.
It's left a massive void in my life. I miss it terribly
Maybe you can start glass blowing. Or hiring hookers. There are all sorts of fun hobbies in the world. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KCrockaholic:
Damn. I actually find that it makes certain games more enjoyable. I guess maybe the key is just don’t let it consume you and see it as a little side fun.
Agree with everything you said, but you know I really only know how to do it one way and that's playing to win. Winning is fun.
Besides, Online sports betting is illegal in California.
The books run constant location checks for compliance.
My Chiefs bets are substantial this year. Keep in mind I'm playing completely with house money. I put in $500 in 2019 and bet on the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl, which they did. I took out my original $500 at that time. I've taken out thousands since then as well. I don't recall how much I won but I bet quite a bit the week after Tyreek was traded, when odds were favorable.
If Mahomes wins MVP this year I'll get $2800 (unlikely)
If the Chiefs get 11 or more wins I'll get $4200 (already won)
If the Chiefs win the SB I'll get $17,500.
These bets were all placed in March before the draft WITH HOUSE MONEY. [Reply]
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