<Does the above agree with the below?>
This seems to be getting more convoluted all the time.
Admitedly I'm not good at explaining tax issues but I
will make one attempt at it.
Gambling wins are required to be reported on form 1040
as income (Line 31 I believe) after your wages,
retirement income, investment gains/losses. After you
total your income, start on deductions which are
reported on Sch A including mortgage interest, Some
taxes, Gifts to charities, Gambling Losses and others.
If the total of Schedule A exceeds the Standard
Deduction you reduce your income by the amount on Sch
A, if not you reduce your income by the standard
deduction. If your schedule A is less than the
standard deduction it may seem you are getting no
credit for your gambling losses, but would you rather
itemize anyway and include your gambling losses or
take the higher reduction to income in the form of the
standard deduction. If you gamble regularly your
gambling losses will probably exceed all your other
deductions such as interest or taxes depending of
course on whether you play 5 cents or $5 Machines.
The original question about whether it is better to
pay off your mortgage I think is a different question
and has more to do with how can I get the best return
on my savings.
I don't want to confuse anyone more so I'll quit here.
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