Taxes on Slot Machine Winnings & Jackpot Legislation • This Week in Gambling

Taxes in America are due in a few days! Do you have to report all your gambling winnings? Are there taxes on slot machine winnings? Plus, there is new legislation coming that could change the way you report jackpots to the IRS! The SLOT Act is a new bill that will raise reporting thresholds!

Hello friends, sports betting and online gambling have been sweeping across this country for the past several years. And with more people gambling, more people are asking how to report their gambling activity on their taxes, if there are taxes on slot machine winnings, or if they even have to report it at all. April 15th is less than two weeks away, and over half the people out there believe they do not have to report their gambling income if they live in a state where gambling is not regulated. This is not true. The IRS wants their share of your income, even if that income was obtained “illegally”.

Now, I’m no expert on gambling and taxes, but the folks at Jackson Hewitt sure are! And they released an article just a couple of weeks ago that could help you with any questions you have about gambling and taxes… including the fact that you must report all gambling income. But additionally, they share how to report it, how gambling losses can be deducted on your 1040, and how each state may have different rules than the IRS, or rules in addition to the IRSwhich could affect how you report those wins and losses. Of course, this is not a complete list of things to keep in mind. So, if you would like additional help or advice, you can follow this link to the Jackson Hewitt article.

And while we’re on the topic of gambling and taxes, two US representatives are working on legislation right now which could fundamentally change the way you report your big winds for taxes on slot machine winnings in the near future. Back in 2019, we told you about efforts to raise the minimum reporting threshold on big wins and jackpots for slot machines and video poker machines at casinos. The current threshold has been stuck at 1,200 bucks since 1977, before I was even born (don’t question my math)!

For nearly 50 years, casinos have been required to complete IRS paperwork every time anyone wins more than $1,200. This new legislation would raise that reporting threshold all the way to $5,000. And there’s a provision in there to raise the threshold even more in the future to keep up with inflation. This new legislation is being called the Shifting Limits on Thresholds Act, or the “SLOT Act“. Ain’t that clever? And believe it or not, the IRS actually supports this legislation! So now, I don’t know what to think!

And while it’s true that Mo’ Money can lead to Mo’ tax problems, there’s at least one player at Caesar’s Palace who I don’t think gives a damn about any taxes on slot machine winnings! That’s because they just won three jackpots, within a 3-hour period last week, for over $660,000! But that wasn’t even the biggest win in Las Vegas recently! There was another down at the Venetian just before Easter for over a million bucks! Plus, a half million doll slot jackpot was hit at the Jamul Casino in San Diego!

And finally this week, Hootie & the Blowfish will be at Fontainebleau Las Vegas late this summer. I mean, they’re not putting on a concert. They’re just coming down for Hootie’s birthday. They’re going to stay in a nice, non-smoking, Strip View room with two queen beds. We’re kidding, of course! Darius Rucker and the rest of the Blowfish will perform two shows at Fontainebleau this August and tickets are on sale now if you’d like to go.

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