I'm planning to so file. Point of interest is that, altho I will be
showing a (small) net profit from actual gambling, other business
expenses would exceed the net wagering gain, resulting in an overall
net loss.
In most other forms of business, this would be--at least in principle--
permissible. Do the same rules apply where gambling is concerned?
(I do have detailed records, showing date and time of each session;
supporting fact contention that I intended to show a profit).
<<I'm planning to so file. Point of interest is that, although I will be
showing a (small) net profit from actual gambling, other business
expenses would exceed the net wagering gain, resulting in an overall
net loss.
In most other forms of business, this would be--at least in principle--
permissible. Do the same rules apply where gambling is concerned? >>
Unfortunately, no. In "Tax Help for the Frugal Gambler," I talk about the IRS believing you can be just a little bit pregnant. They give you many of the perks of being a business, i.e., deducting expenses, but they make you keep to another IRS rule that says you can not deduct losses greater than your winnings.
I have wanted to challenge this. One year I had a $200 loss and wanted to deduct $200 more in losses than I had in winnings. Marissa, who does my taxes, couldn't be persuaded to do it - she said I would be opening up a big can of worms that would be a lot more trouble than it was worth just because I wanted something new to write about!!!! 
________________________________________
Jean $�ott - http://www.FrugalGambler.biz
Tax time is coming up - groan! "Tax Help
for the Frugal Gambler" can answer many
of your questions!
The same general rules apply. You should know that the IRS has been
cracking down of late on Schedule C filers who are not full time
professional gamblers saying the part time gamblers are disallowed
from filing Schedule C.