<<The other winner and I discussed the fact that we
both were very happy to receive W-2G's rather than
1099's because we can now claim our gambling
losses against this W-2G income. Whereas, had
we received 1099's, we could not claim any gambling
losses against our tournament winnings and we
would owe more taxes.>>
Many (most?) gamblers DO add 1099 gambling amounts to their machine/table gambling wins. This is an area that is not covered clearly in the IRS regulations, but most knowledgeable accountants and tax preparers will advise that these can be added together if the 1099 income (like for tournaments or drawings) is directly related to gambling. It could be considered gambling INCOME rather than a PRIZE.
In the tax book, I said that one professional gambler, when asked if the nature of the casino paperwork determined how to report something, responded: "The character of the income is not changed by the form on which the casino reports it - the 1099 or the W-2G."
I would like to give a bit of explanation about the book Marissa and I wrote, "Tax Help for the Frugal Gambler." This book is not a full-length regular-size paperback book, but is an 8 1/2 by 11 "handbook." It does not profess to cover every possible tax situation of every gambler. So many tax issues and IRS regulations, especially concerning gambling, are so vague that this would be impossible to do in the first place. However, this book does cover the tax basics that every gambler should know. Since so many of the IRS regulations were written a long time ago, many gamblers have a hard time seeing how a lot of present-day casino gambling fits. This book was written to help gamblers with this problem, especially if their tax preparers were not gamblers themselves and didn't understand all the details and couldn't answer their questions.
Marissa is a very knowledgeable and experienced gambler herself as well as an EA (enrolled agent) who is a financial planner as well as a professional tax preparer, with many years of experience in these areas. Obviously, not everyone interprets the tax code in exactly the same way, not even IRS personnel themselves! So, she and I presented the basics very clearly, but always advising that personal circumstances should be the final guide. And we always suggest that readers just use this as a general guide and seek professional advice for their particular details.
If you want to know the subjects that we cover in the book, you will find them at my Web site below. Click on "Books" and then on "Tax Help Handbook."
I have had a lot of comments about this book e-mailed to me personally and most of them have been very positive. I do not have a problem with negative comments if they are specific enough that I can address them. If you think there is something that is inaccurate, let me know. Sometimes this may not be a matter of right or wrong but may just be a common problem of interpretation - not all professionals agree on every one.
I have had comments that people would like more examples, more court cases, more coverage of specialized issues. So Marissa and I are gathering material now to enlarge the scope of this book and this new expanded edition - probably in regular paperback form - will be available next year, probably by the fall.
Marissa and I welcome any suggestions you might want to send us.
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Jean $�ott - http://www.FrugalGambler.biz
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