Do Seniors Pay Taxes On Casino Winnings

Posted By admin On 28/03/22
Do Seniors Pay Taxes On Casino Winnings Rating: 5,0/5 9480 votes

Lottery and Gambling Winnings

  1. Casino winnings count as gambling income and gambling income is always taxed at the federal level. That includes cash from slot machines, poker tournaments, baccarat, roulette, keno, bingo.
  2. Reporting Tax on Winnings Taxes on Prize Money and Sweepstakes Winnings. Typically, tax on winnings, like sweepstakes or prize money, should be reported to you in Box 3 (other income) of IRS Form 1099-MISC. This includes winnings from sweepstakes when you did not make an effort to enter and also applies to merchandise won from a game show.

Winning the Lottery or scoring on a sports wager can change your life in profound ways. Congratulations on your lucky break!

Just remember that your good fortune includes a responsibility to pay taxes and fees on those winnings.

Gambling Winnings:
In 2018, Governor Phil Murphy signed a law that authorized legal sports betting in New Jersey. The law (A4111) allows people, age 21 and over, to place sports bets over the internet or in person at New Jersey's casinos, racetracks, and former racetracks. Sports betting is now among the many forms of gambling winnings that are subject to the New Jersey Gross Income Tax, including legalized gambling (sports betting, casino, racetrack, etc.) and illegal gambling.

Gambling Winnings or Losses TB-20(R) – August 2, 2016 Tax: Gross Income Tax Under the provisions of N.J.S.A. 54A:5.1(g), all gambling winnings, whether they are the result of legalized gambling (casino, racetrack, etc.) or illegal gambling, are subject to the New Jersey Gross Income Tax. A federal law passed in Germany two years ago 'ruled that professional gamblers must pay income tax on their net gambling winnings (less expenses),' and that 'amateur gamblers do not have to pay. Will I have to pay taxes on any winnings? Casino staff will assist winners of large jackpots with the necessary United States Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) forms, notify the I.R.S. Of the jackpot amount and provide a W-2G form to the winner to be filed with the winner’s federal income taxes.

Lottery:
New Jersey Lottery winnings from prize amounts exceeding $10,000 became subject to the Gross Income Tax in January 2009.

Withholding Rate from Gambling Winnings
New Jersey Income Tax is withheld at an amount equal to three percent (3%) of the payout for both New Jersey residents and nonresidents (N.J.S.A. 54A:5.1(g)).

Withholding Rate from Lottery Winnings
The rate is determined by the amount of the payout. If a prize is taxable (i.e., over $10,000), the entire amount of the payout is subject to withholding, not just the amount in excess of $10,000. The withholding rates for gambling winnings paid by the New Jersey Lottery are as follows:

  • 5% for Lottery payouts between $10,001 and $500,000;
  • 8% for Lottery payouts over $500,000; and
  • 8% for Lottery payouts over $10,000, if the claimant does not provide a valid Taxpayer Identification Number.
New Jersey Income Tax withholding is based on the total amount of the prize won. For example, if two people win a New Jersey Lottery prize of $14,000 and split the proceeds equally, $7,000 of income is taxable to each person and is subject to the 5% withholding rate. Both taxpayers would be subject to the 5% withholding because the total amount of the prize exceeded $10,000.

Companies that obtain the right to Lottery payments from the winner and receive Lottery payments are also subject to New Jersey withholdings. Each company is required to file for a refund of the tax withheld, if applicable.

Lottery

New Jersey Lottery winnings from prize amounts exceeding $10,000 are taxable. The individual prize amount is the determining factor of taxability, not the total amount of Lottery winnings during the year.

  • For example, if a person won the New Jersey Lottery twice in the same year, and the winning prize amounts were $5,000 and $6,000, these winnings would not be subject to New Jersey Gross Income Tax. However, if that person won the Lottery once and received a prize of $11,000, the winnings would be taxable.
  • This standard for taxability applies to both residents and nonresidents.
  • The New Jersey Lottery permits donating, splitting, and assigning Lottery proceeds to someone else or to a charity. If you choose to donate, split, or assign your Lottery winnings, in whole or in part, the value is taxable to the recipient in the same way as it is for federal income tax purposes.
Gambling and Lottery

Making Estimated Payments
If you will not have enough withholdings to cover your New Jersey Income Tax liability, you must make estimated payments to avoid interest and penalties. For more information on estimated payments, see GIT-8, Estimating Income Taxes.

Out-of-State Sales:
Out-of-state lottery winnings are taxable for New Jersey Gross Income Tax purposes regardless of the amount.

Gambling winnings from a New Jersey location are taxable to nonresidents. Gambling includes the activities of sports betting and placing bets at casinos and racetracks.

Calculating Taxable Income
You may use your gambling losses to offset gambling winnings from the same year as long as they do not exceed your total winnings. If your losses were greater than your winnings, you cannot report the negative figure on your New Jersey tax return. You must claim zero income for net gambling winnings. For more information, see TB-20(R), Gambling Winnings or Losses.

You may be required to substantiate gambling losses used to offset winnings reported on your New Jersey tax return. Evidence of losses can include your losing tickets, a daily log or journal of wins and losses, canceled checks, notes, etc. You are not required to provide a detailed rider of gambling winnings and losses with your New Jersey tax return. However, if you report gambling winnings (net of losses) on your New Jersey return, you must attach a supporting statement indicating your total winnings and losses.

Reporting Taxable Winnings
Include taxable New Jersey Lottery and gambling winnings in the category of “net gambling winnings” on your New Jersey Gross Income Tax return.

Editorial Note: Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our marketing partners don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted. Availability of products, features and discounts may vary by state or territory. Read our Editorial Guidelines to learn more about our team.
Advertiser Disclosure

We think it's important for you to understand how we make money. It's pretty simple, actually. The offers for financial products you see on our platform come from companies who pay us. The money we make helps us give you access to free credit scores and reports and helps us create our other great tools and educational materials.

Compensation may factor into how and where products appear on our platform (and in what order). But since we generally make money when you find an offer you like and get, we try to show you offers we think are a good match for you. That's why we provide features like your Approval Odds and savings estimates.

Of course, the offers on our platform don't represent all financial products out there, but our goal is to show you as many great options as we can.

This article was fact-checked by our editors and reviewed by Christina Taylor, MBA, senior manager of tax operations for Credit Karma Tax®.

Betting on sports is part of the fun for many sports fans — even if their wagering hasn’t always been technically legal.

Do Seniors Pay Taxes On Casino Winnings Payout

Until a May 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision opened the door for every state to legalize sports betting, just four states allowed wagering on sports — Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon. Legality, however, hasn’t stopped Americans from betting on sports. In fact, the American Gaming Association estimates that Americans spend more than $150 billion a year on illegal sports betting.

Since the Supreme Court’s ruling, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Mississippi and Rhode Island have legalized sports betting. And at least 14 other states are considering laws to permit wagering on sports.

But when you gamble on sports, it won’t matter to the IRS if your winnings came from a legal bet or from one that’s off the books. Your winnings are taxable income either way.

If you plan to do some wagering in a state that’s legalized sports betting, it’s important to understand how tax on your winnings will work. Let’s take a look at how the IRS treats gambling winnings of any kind.

Afraid of audits? Get Free Audit Defense

Sports-betting winnings are taxable income

Do Seniors Pay Taxes On Casino Winnings Tax

The big question for sports gamblers: Are your winnings taxable income? As we said above, the answer is yes.

“Gambling winnings are fully taxable and you must report the income on your tax return,” the IRS says. “Gambling income includes but isn’t limited to winnings from lotteries, raffles, horse races and casinos. It includes cash winnings and the fair market value of prizes, such as cars and trips.”

Although sports betting isn’t one of the examples, it’s still covered by “gambling winnings.”

Whether sports betting is legal in the state where you place your bet doesn’t matter to the IRS. If you win, you have taxable income, which should be reported when you file your tax return.

Do Seniors Pay Taxes On Casino Winnings Real Money

These rules apply only to casual sports bettors. If you’re a pro — “in the trade or business of gambling,” as the IRS puts it — different rules apply.

How much tax you’ll owe depends on your personal tax situation and tax bracket.

You might also owe state income tax on any money you win from betting on sports, depending on which state you live in. For example, Nevada doesn’t have a state income tax. But Maryland does, and it considers winnings from gambling taxable income. If you win money betting on sports, check with your state to see if it taxes gambling winnings.

What types of income are taxable?

Form W-2G: Evidence of your sports-betting win

So you win a couple thousand bucks betting on your favorite sports team. How will the IRS know if you don’t tell it? Well, whomever you won the money from — a casino, racetrack, etc. — is supposed to report your winnings to the IRS on Form W-2G. The form tells the IRS some important information, including …

Do seniors pay taxes on casino winnings real money
  • Contact information for the payer who awarded you the winnings, including phone number, address and federal tax identification number
  • Your name, address and taxpayer identification number
  • How much you won
  • When you won it
  • What kind of wager you made
  • And how much, if any, federal and state income tax the payer withheld from your winnings

Generally, the payer has to report your winnings if …

  • You won $1,200 or more from a bingo game or slot machine
  • You raked in $1,500 or more at keno
  • Your poker victory tops $5,000
  • You won $600 or more and your winnings are at least 300 times the amount of your bet (bingo, slots, keno and poker are exceptions to this rule)
  • The payor withheld federal income tax on the winnings

Penalties for not reporting sports-betting income

Of course, the IRS wants you to report all your taxable income, and if you don’t you could face penalties and interest on any tax you owed but didn’t pay.

Generally, the penalty for not paying income tax that you owe is 0.5% of the unpaid tax. That rate is assessed monthly until you pay the tax you owe. Unpaid tax and penalties typically accrue interest, too — 5% compounded daily from the due date of your tax return to the date when you actually pay in full the balance of any tax, penalties and interest you owe.

However, if you’re caught intentionally omitting income — like gambling winnings — from your tax return in order to avoid paying tax on that income, it could mean additional penalties. According to the tax code, trying to “evade or defeat” tax you owe on income you’re required to report could be a felony with fines of up to $100,000 for individuals or five years in prison. Plus, people convicted of tax evasion can be held responsible for the costs of prosecution.

What should you do if you can't pay your taxes?

Lose a sports bet? It might be deductible!

Do Seniors Pay Taxes On Casino Winnings Money

Just as sports-betting winnings are considered taxable income, losses may be tax-deductible if …

  • You itemize your deductions
  • You keep detailed records of your winnings and losses

“To deduct your losses, you must keep an accurate diary or similar record of your gambling winnings and losses and be able to provide receipts, tickets, statements or other records that show the amount of both your winnings and losses,” the IRS says.

Any losses you deduct cannot exceed winnings that you report when you file your return. For example, if you reported winnings of $5,000, you could deduct losses only up to that amount. Additional losses would not be deductible. And if you lost $5,000 but didn’t win anything, you wouldn’t be able to deduct those losses at all.

If you’re eligible to deduct your sports-betting losses — or any other gambling losses — you’ll do so on Schedule A, Line 28, “Other Miscellaneous Deductions.”

Real

Bottom line

Do Senior Citizens Have To Pay Taxes On Gambling Winnings

More than a quarter of Americans like to bet on football, 21% are interested in betting on baseball or basketball, and 20% would put some money down on a hockey game, according to Nielsen Sports. If you’re a fan of sports wagering, it’s important to understand that tax on sports betting is nothing new.

The IRS has always considered gambling winnings taxable income, and it expects you to report all your taxable income — even the money you win betting on sports.

If you’ll be reporting gambling winnings on your federal income tax return, or hoping to write off some gambling losses, be sure to keep detailed records of your wagers and losses.

Christina Taylor is senior manager of tax operations for Credit Karma Tax®. She has more than a dozen years of experience in tax, accounting and business operations. Christina founded her own accounting consultancy and managed it for more than six years. She co-developed an online DIY tax-preparation product, serving as chief operating officer for seven years. She is the current treasurer of the National Association of Computerized Tax Processors and holds a bachelor’s in business administration/accounting from Baker College and an MBA from Meredith College. You can find her on LinkedIn.

Afraid of audits? Get Free Audit Defense

Related Articles