<So the net effect is the first couple thousand of>
<losses are not decuctible for me because first I>
<have to get past what would have been my standard>
<deduction if I had not itemized.>
I sure am glad someone brought this up because I
wanted to sound off on it, but I didn't want to start
it. The above statement is not exactly correct since
you would be getting the benefit of the higher
standard deduction until your itemimized deductions
are above that amount. Depending on the denomination
you play, at $1 machines and above you can accumulate
a lot of W2G's. And as was pointed out all are added
into your Adjusted Gross Income plus your non W2G wins
and your AGI determeans the $ amount at which you
start to lose part of your Itemized deductions, part
of your exemptions, the taxability of your Social
Security(if any), the eligibility of contributing to
and IRA, just to mention a few.
Also if you play in a state that has a gambling tax
that's an additional amount you have to pay. If you
have a losing year you still have to report all the
income and the gambling losses up to the amount of the
win but you get no credit for the loss. So you pay
more taxes even though you didn't win. Even a small
win might not be enough to cover the tax you have to
pay when you play a the $ and above level. I've been
trying to go from playing $'s to quarters for this
reason. I know someone will tell me if I have
mistakenly reported something incorrectly.
(Sorry Susan but I just had to say it)
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