Casino Win Loss Statement
The IRS hates casino win/loss statements for two main reasons – one legal and the other practical.
First of all, the IRS has the proper legal authority to disallow the usage of most casino win/loss statements. The Courts and the IRS have interpreted Section 165(d) of the Internal Revenue Code in such a way that gambling activities cannot be reported in a summary fashion. Instead the IRS prefers, yes insists, that gamblers keep a gambling diary (See Revenue Procedure 77-29) and report their activity by “gambling session” (See IRS Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum 2008-011 for more information).
Can I use a casino win/loss statement,to show my losses? Absolutely, just make sure it includes all wins and losses separately and is not a combined number. You should show your gambling winnings as income and then your gambling losses as an itemized deduction, if you qualify. This statement can be used when filing taxes. Download the form, fill out all fields, and mail in or return to the Player’s Club with a valid identification card. Print the form below, fill out all fields, and mail in or return to the Player’s Club with a valid identification card. Win/Loss Request Form. Visit the ResortsAC.com Player Access page to log in to your account and download your Win/Loss Statement for your casino earnings.
For example, if a gambler has a $10,000 winning gambling session followed by a losing gambling session of $9,900, the gambler is not allowed to merely report the difference of $100. Instead, the gambler must report the $10,000 as other income, and if the gambler itemizes his deductions, then the loss of $9,900 is included as an other miscellaneous deduction not subject to the two percent limitation.
The take away – IRC Section 165(d) is focused on “transactions” and not “totals.”
The second reason is indeed more practical. How can the IRS verify that the amounts reported in a casino win/loss statement? Or more likely, how can the gambler during an audit prove the amounts stated in the casino win/loss statements? Not very easily.
It is important to understand the source of the amounts used on casino win/loss statements. For slot machine players, the amounts are recorded when a gambler uses a Player’s Card. For table games such as poker and black jack, the amounts are frequently estimated by a “pit boss” while observing the gambler on the casino floor.
For slot machine players these methods, naturally lead to three common questions:
- Can the gambler prove that he used the Player’s Card every time he gambled?
- Can the gambler prove that he only played one slot machine at a time?
- Can the gambler prove that he was the only one that used the Player’s Card?
For question #1, it is difficult to convince an IRS auditor or a judge that someone not able to keep proper records in the first place was able to remember to use their Player’s Card every time they gambled.
Question #2 is a fair question. It is common technique for slot machine players to simultaneously play adjacent machines. Unfortunately, it is not possible to insert a Player’s Card into more than one machine at a time.
Regarding question #3, it is important to note that casinos strongly discourage gamblers from sharing their Player’s Card – but it is not uncommon or impossible. The IRS faced a similar situation in the case of Pan v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, T.C. Memo. 2011-40, (U.S. Tax Ct. 2011). For the tax year in question, the casino reported several Form W-2G’s in Mr. Pan’s name to the IRS. During the audit, the IRS included these additional amounts in Mr. Pan’s income. Eventually, Mr. Pan was able to provide his passport to the IRS and demonstrate to their satisfaction that he was indeed out of the country when some of the W-2G’s were generated. But the question remains. If, if someone is able to “forge” another person’s identity when they receive a hand-paid jackpot, how hard is it to “borrow” another gambler’s Player’s Card?
If that was not reason enough, almost all the casino win/loss statements have some type of “disclaimer” language discouraging their use as reliable accounting records.
For these reasons and more, it is not surprising that the IRS HATES casino win/loss statements.
Do you like gambling? You come to the casino, races or watch sports and bet on the wins, and that entire thrill is extremely valuable for you. Every time you play slots or poker, it sucks you in, entertains you and makes you come back for more. Every win and jackpot you get takes you to another level, makes you feel high. You love money and being in the casino.
Doesn’t matter if you’re an amateur, completely new oran established casino player, you must know what a win-loss statement is andhow it can influence your taxes.And in case you’re a fan of Cleveland Horseshoe Casino (now Jack ClevelandCasino), you must understand how to reada win-loss statement from Cleveland Horseshoe Casino.
As it’s essential to have your statement and know whatto do with it to continue gambling and profiting from it, getting money andliving on it, we’ll help you understand the win-loss statement from everycasino you visit. You won’t be scared to gamble anymore and will know how todeal with taxes.
About Cleveland HorseshoeCasino (Jack Cleveland Casino)
First, let’s talk about the Jack Cleveland Casino tounderstand the matter better and make it clearer. You can’t just judge thestatement of your favorite place before getting to know the history and whereit came from, right?
Jake Cleveland Casino is located in Cleveland, Ohio,in Higbee Building at the Tower City Center, making it extremely approachableand open to anybody over 21 years old, 24 hours a day. You can find it from theTower City Center, Public Square, and Terminal Tower. It’s big and has a lot topresent to the visitors. That includes:
- over 1500 slots;
- almost 40 electronic games;
- more than 100 table games.
It also partnered up with several hotels to providerooms and accommodation for the visitors, and so they can access the casinoquickly as they live nearby. Moreover, they made it possible to have meals anddrinks from the best restaurants that partnered up with this establishment.
History of the Casino
- TheHorseshoe Cleveland Casino was opened on May 14, the year 2009 as the casinoswere legalized in Ohio and other cities several years before that.
- Thiscasino became one of the best as its taxes were spent for good purposes,including the treatment and research of the gambling addiction, schools, othercities, developing rules for gambling in Ohio and other.
- InFebruary 2016 the casino was rebranded and remade into the Jack ClevelandCasino and provided better gambling access to the locals and tourists from thattime on.
What to Do Here
Of course, play! As soon as you enter, you will beable to play any game you like, be it slots, poker, baccarat or any other gamesfrom the hundreds on the list of the casino. You’re in luck if you like pokerthe most because they have a huge poker room. You can also rest and chill atthe lounge rooms, take a break and snack at the buffet and food court. If youwant to stay near the casino, it’s possible to book a room at the nearest hotelwith the partner. Or, in case you’re hungry for a pleasant meal, go to therestaurant and spend some time there before coming back to gambling.
So, when you’ve already understood that you preferthis casino and want to gamble here for some time, it’s just perfect to get toknow about your taxes and a win-loss statement from here.
What Is a Win-Loss Statement
You won’t really think that income from gambling issomething that would be counted as a legal income. Yet, that’s how reality is,and when your earnings are more than $1200, you need to fill out the specialform for your taxes every year. So, you better track all your times you went tothe casino.
The win-loss statement also works with:
- races (dog and horse);
- lottery;
- raffles;
- poker;
- sports betting.
Basically, a win-loss statement is what you’ve earned and lost throughout a year based on your information tracked either by you or the casino by using their customer card. It’s the best to track your own wins or losses, but requesting this document from the casino you visit the most will make the taxing process a lot easier for you.
When you want to see if your win-loss statement isgood enough for counting out the taxes and increasing your income, that’s whatyou should note down every time you gamble:
- the date of your gambling;
- type of gambling (poker, betting, slots, etc.)
- name of your casino and its full address;
- names of people you played with;
- how much you won and lost during the games.
Why Do You Need a Win-Loss Statement?
You need your statement so you will get more incomefrom what you won. So, you will simply get fewer taxes if you report how muchyou lost during the game. The losses are deducted from your taxes.
You can count how much IRS (Internal Revenue Service)will deduct from taxes by counting how much you won and lost, and then usingthis method: a whole sum you won during the year minus how much you lost duringthe year.
Yet, you should note that you can’t use this method ifyou lost more than you won. You can only deduct the same amount. For example,if you won $15000 but lost $16000, you can only count $15000 as losses.
Same goes out to those, who think they can just minusout their losses from the taxes. You can only report the loss if you had won atleast once.
What’s in My Win LossStatement
When you look at your win-loss statement, there arethings you should learn about it to read it right. In your win-loss statement,you have:
- Theestimated amount of dollars you won at the casino; in this situation, it’s ClevelandHorseshoe (Jack Cleveland) Casino. You can’t simply take this amount and giveit to your tax professional, you are required to keep track yourself andcompare those.
- Allyour losses as a negative amount.
- Theonly money that was recorded by the card from your casino.
- Onlywins from the slot and table games, not any other games you participated in.All the information is also not verified until you count it yourself andcompare.
Which winnings can be reported?
Casino Win Loss Statement Calculation
You should report the winnings as to count in yourannual taxes in cases like:
- you played slots or bingo machines and won more than$1200 this year;
- you played poker and won more than $5000 this year;
- you played a keno game and won more than $1500 thisyear.
Winstar World Casino Win/loss Statement
All in all, gambling is not as easy as it can seem tosome people. If you truly love to gamble at the Jack Cleveland casino and wantto be serious about it, you need a win-loss report from this casino. Moreover,it will be counted in your taxes when you win more than $1200 on the mostpopular games. Now you know how to read a win-loss statement from pastCleveland Horseshoe Casino, now Jack Cleveland Casino. Good luck, player!