Quote:
Originally Posted by RealMcCoy
Aka - You have been very helpful to readers on many issues, you have experience and are willing share that in many cases for the benefit of others.
HOWEVER you also don't know when to just say I AM WRONG or I didn't know that. You are entitled to your OPINION and typically you support that opinion with a well written argument. FINE good for you.
Tax withholding regulations are not OPINIONS, Venues don't get to pick and choose what they follow if they are following the law. Regulations change over time and what may be true 5 years ago are NOT necessarily accurate today. The WSOP policy is not a "mystery" and while CAESARS has on EXCEEDINGLY RARE occasions chosen to interpret the IRS code slightly differently (backers income reporting is a specific example in the past) the regulations for withholding are very clear and also very specific to the type of wager that generated the payout.
The Link is absolutely specific to poker and other gaming winnings as to what the current IRS Treasury regulations require. So for the benefit of those that read and pay attention to your posts please stop the obfuscation.
NOTE: To be perfectly clear I am NOT disputing Greg Raymer and his personal experience. I suspect but DO NOT KNOW that the 300X criteria became part of the regulations well after his ME victory. Greg in his prior lifetime was an attorney (patent I believe) and can read a legal document and the tax law and has enough real world experience on cashing and W2G's to be someone to pay attention to.
I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to be obfuscating. The link you provided had sections which seemed to be at odds with each other, which is nothing surprising for IRS statutes. And until dimeat’s contribution, I didn’t see anything specific to poker tournaments.
The only thing I am claiming is, in my experience outside the WSOP, withholding has been a player choice for US taxpayers. And I expect it is so at the WSOP as well, but I don’t know for sure. If their policy is so clear then again, it would be nice if they just spelled it out somewhere so we wouldn’t have to speculate, not necessarily about the law, but in regard to what the WSOP does with it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dj33
I've never had them withhold, that being said it very important and I stress, VERY important, to keep track of every penny you spend related to your stay and travel to and from Vegas and that includes your meals (even the $30 hotdog). I even log my mileage for the drive to the airport, Uber trip ect, all of that goes toward reducing your taxable income, ie your tax the gov will collect.
I've seen people toss their tourney slips for events they bust....save them all they count against your taxable income.
At the risk of stepping on any CPA toes, I’m pretty sure the first part of this is not at all true unless a player is designated as a professional gambler by the IRS. And that designation isn’t so easy to get unless a person can show that their main source of income and occupation is gambling. Travel and other peripheral costs cannot be deducted except as business expenses of a person who’s business is gambling.
Of course, people should keep their buy in slips so they can write those off as losses against total winnings on their federal return (if they itemize). They can also do that in some, but not all states.