Anyone else see the maniac on 12 throwing away money at like 1 am this morning? Dropping ~$600 in 2 hours at 1/2 is impressive.

Pfffft. That's nothing, I've dropped that much at $1/2 in 30 minutes.

That is completely unimpressive compared to the maniac who dumped about $400 in 2 hours yesterday... at 2/4 limit.

That's really nothing! Hell, Catch me on a good day and I'm punting power ball numbers lol.

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you must play in the ****tiest games ever if this was noteworthy to you at all

what's this 30% tax crap. it's my first US poker series (i'm from UK). I cashed in the 500 and they want 30% of that going to tax. I'm pretty sure i shouldn't be paying, i told the lady at the cash desk that i'm from UK and that i shouldn't have to pay that and she didn't want to hear any of it...

The UK does have a tax treaty with the US for gambling income, which exempts you from paying the 30% withholding. You are supposed to provide the casino with a U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number on an IRS Form W-8BEN to claim such treaty benefits and avoid tax withholding. Many casinos provide the necessary forms and services to foreign players. Apparently the Hard Rock is not one of them.

The good news is that even if you pay the withholding (be sure to get some sort of documentation), you can get it refunded by filing the proper reporting forms with the IRS after the end of the tax year in December. See the "What if I have dual citizenship, or am visiting from another country?" section of the US Taxes Sticky.

can vouch that tampa hard rock is lazy with tax filings and errs on the side of taxing. i got taxed on every high hand promo i took even though only prizes over 600 are required to be recorded and taxed. and they gave me a 1099misc instead of a w2g so i couldn't count my losses against it.

1099 is the correct form for prizes. It would be a W2G if they paid you gambling winnings. Promotions are not winnings, they are prizes.

The $600 threshold is an annual figure for total payments to an individual or company. The amount is intended to avoid record keeping hassles for small payments,and was enacted long before computers made it trivial. I'm sure they find it easier to issue a 1099 to everyone they pay regardless of the amount. While you don't like it, there's nothing wrong with it from a reporting perspective.

Whether they issue a 1099 (and thereby report it to the government) or not, US citizens are supposed to claim all income and pay the appropriate taxes.

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what about other European country citizens like people from Czech Republic and Netherlands?

Prizes paid from the jackpot drop, such as for high hands and bad beats, and other types of jackpots which occur as a result of the play of poker, are gambling winnings, not sweepstakes or other types of promotional prizes. They should properly be reported on a W-2G (if they meet the threshold for such reporting), not a 1099-MISC.

See the US taxes sticky for a list of countries that currently have a tax treaty with the US that exempts gambling income.

The IRS disagreed with that position a few years ago on my tax filing, finding the 1099 to be the correct vehicle. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now, but it seems that most casinos got the word, too, and issue 1099 for promotional prizes regardless of funding source.

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i am nowhere near an accountant or a tax expert... but i am under the impression that almost any company can issue a 1099misc in place of the "proper" form.. especially for the forms less travelled (and i call this lazy).

gambling "prizes" from high-hands are still gambling wins... and they're reported on W2G's from every other casino i've ever gotten one from.

again... i'm not saying they did anything "wrong" but their laziness in the form makes it difficult for me... and they're unnecessary work ethic for prizes under $600 also make it difficult for me.

i'm aware i'm being selfish in my standpoint here.

Was that a tax court decision or simply an opinion of an irs agent doing a review of your return? Did you receive a 1099 and then just report it as gambling winnings on your return? Did you include any sort of explanation with your return? Any details are appreciated.

It was an IRS "private ruling" (which are b.s. IMO) made after an exchange of several letters, a few phone calls, and two in-person discussions between my CPA and the IRS. We also involved the Taxpayer Advocate.

I received a 1099-MISC from a casino and filed it as miscellaneous income from gambling along with the rest of my poker income for the year. I deducted my losses normally.

In the end, the IRS didn't care what form was issued as the controlling factor was whether or not I was filing as a professional gambler. (I was not.) As such, my ability to deduct losses against income was subject to the threshold (now above 2% AGI, I think?) for miscellaneous income deductions and the rule that losses cannot exceed income, neither of which apply to professionals.

This was more than two decades ago, so it is entirely possible that their stance has changed. Since it was decision by private ruling, it specifically applied to me but not necessarily to everyone.

The bottom line for me is that every year I file the same way and have no problem regardless of the forms issued.

I am not a lawyer or a CPA and the above does not constitute tax advice.

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Thanks for the details! I would classify your case as limited in application and outdated.

Currently, a non-pro can take an itemized deduction on Schedule A for all gambling losses up to the amount of gambling winnings reported as Other Income on line 21 of Form 1040, without the 2% AGI threshold.:

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p529/ar02.html

In any case, the only time any player should complain about receiving a 1099 instead of W-2G is when some of their winnings for the year can't be offset with losses because the prizes received were not properly classified as gambling winnings on a W-2G. 85chickasaw's complaint that every prize he received was taxed carries no validity since receiving any prize, whether counted as gambling winnings or miscellaneous income, is a taxable event even if the casino does not do any reporting on it.

For a pro player, it is a lot easier to handle a 1099-MISC for winnings than a W-2G - there is no automatic way to transfer the W-2G winnings to a Schedule C, but any 1099-MISC can easily be assigned to a Schedule C.

In any case where losses exceed winnings for the year for a non-pro, there may be issues with taking the full amount of allowed losses on the Schedule A if some of the winnings are reported on 1099s instead of W-2Gs. This will be especially dicey for tournament winners, who under IRS rules are clearly supposed to receive a W-2G and not a 1099, and only for a net tournament payout over $5K.

As with everything with the IRS, it's complicated and is subject to interpretation (or misinterpretation) by any IRS agent that reviews your return. Your policy to report the same way every year is not a bad way to go, although I imagine sometimes you are paying more taxes than you should. But you probably recoup that by avoiding the extra expenses for a CPA, Advocate, etc. to fight the IRS on the issue.

Can anyone say "flat tax"? Rand Paul for President! LOL

good breakdown xan.

for the record, i'm not claiming i was cheated or anything. i'm aware all income is subject to tax. and although i'd rather there just not be a record of small prizes (invalid stance i know) my main grievance with the 1099misc instead of the w2g is it's harder for me to show gambling losses against it rather than just having it all listed in the nicely sorted gambling lines (wins... losses... total). i also suspect if i throw gambling losses at the 1099misc i'm more likey to be audited. i should still be fine... but who wants that hassle/worry?

Still taking some getting used to having 18 year olds in the poker room gambling, places I've been before were always 21+

Friday and Saturday night I noticed a kid that looked like he was 12, short, chubby with glasses and short hair. I wanted to be like "excuse me, is this your sippy cup?" he looked so out of place.

Just checking my Bravo App and noticed there are two O8 games running plus almost enough players on the waiting list to start a third table.

Right now I can only play weekends, but wondering what the games are like midweek? Assuming still plenty juicy or is it a nit/fold fest with >5 players to a flop?

We need a MaxValue/THR containment thread.

+1

Will I get the money right after I fill in the irs forum?

Hard to answer that question since you aren't being clear.

If you mean do you get the 30% back that is withheld from your payout when you file a US Tax Return, the answer is now. First, you have to wait until after the tax year is over to file, which means not until next January. Secondly, it will take time to process the tax form and issue your return - at least a few weeks I'm sure. Might be faster if you figure out if you can file everything needed electronically and provide banking information for an electronic transfer of the funds - but that might be problematic from the UK.

Damn, can't remember the last time I had quads let's alone with aces. 1 min left in 30 min high hand my quad aces 9 kicker goes down to quad aces k kicker. Lol Good times at the rock!

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Aw that's sick man. Saturday night we saw JJJJ2 get beat by JJJJT and then JJJJA all within the span of about 15 minutes