The Internal Revenue Service treats gambling winnings as taxable income. This means that if you hit it big in the lottery, the tax man wins too. However, if you go to Vegas or Atlantic City and blow some of your winnings, those losses could end up reducing your tax bill.

• Can You Deduct Gambling Losses Against Winnings In 2018
• Claiming Gambling Losses Taxes
• Can You Write Off Gambling Losses Against Winnings

Gambling, According to the IRS

The IRS defines gambling relatively broadly. Playing the lottery, betting on horses and participating in raffles all meet its definition. Any money you win or lose in a casino is also considered a gambling loss. You can mix different types of gambling income and losses all together, so you don't have to separate your casino gambling from your lottery play.

Deducting Losses

Your winnings might be noncash — like a vacation or a car. If so, you must include its fair market value (FMV) when figuring your income. If you itemize your deductions, you can deduct your gambling losses for the year on Schedule A. However, you can only deduct your loss up to the amount you report as gambling winnings. Reporting your gambling winnings and losses are no exception. You benefit from ensuring that your return is correct, as you can ensure you receive the largest refund that you deserve and that you don’t have to deal with any correspondence from the IRS in the future. It’s also your responsibility to track and record all your wins and losses.

The IRS will let you deduct all of your gambling losses up to the amount that you report as winnings. If you win $150,000 in the lottery and you have $50,000 in losses from bad lottery tickets and a few very unlucky hands of blackjack, you can write off all $50,000 in losses, offsetting an equal amount of your winnings. However, if you win $1,500 on a lottery ticket, you'd only be able to write off up to $1,500 in losses against it, even if you lost a lot more than that.

Claiming the Deduction

To be able to deduct gambling losses to offset some or all of your winnings, you will have to itemize your deductions. This means that you can't claim the standard deduction. Once you choose to itemize, you can write off all of your losses, up to your winnings, on line 28 of the Schedule A form. Unfortunately, if you pay the alternative minimum tax instead of regular income tax, you lose the ability to claim the gambling loss deduction.

Substantiating the Deduction

You also need to be able to prove how much you lost. The IRS recommends keeping a diary with the dates you play, what you play, where you play, who was with you and what you won or lost. Saving supporting documentation -- like hotel bills that show you stayed at the casino on the dates you were gambling -- can help, too. Another way to track your losses is to use a player's club card that logs your activity in the casino's computers, since you can have the casino generate a printout of your gambling activity.

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About the Author

Steve Lander has been a writer since 1996, with experience in the fields of financial services, real estate and technology. His work has appeared in trade publications such as the 'Minnesota Real Estate Journal' and 'Minnesota Multi-Housing Association Advocate.' Lander holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Columbia University.

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Can You Deduct Gambling Losses Against Winnings In 2018

Claiming Gambling Losses Taxes

If you’re like most people, you dread tax season each year. There’s nothing like the anxiety of wondering if you’re going to owe the IRS. Add to that the stress of figuring out what informationyou’ll need to include and whether it’s coming by mail or electronic delivery, then scheduling time to meet with your tax advisor. Not to mention the added fear of wondering if you’re going tomiss something that will result in penalties and interest, or, even worse, an audit.

All of this can combine to create a real headache. Read on to learn some of the basics regarding your gambling winnings and losses and how they affect your individual income tax return. Evenpossessing some general knowledge on the issue can go a long way to reduce stress. Keep in mind that this material is provided for general awareness. For tax planning and advice and more detailedinformation, check out the links provided throughout this post.

It’s also important to note that the information provided here is for casual gamblers only. Professional gamblers will file Schedule C to report winnings and losses from gambling, and that isoutside the scope of this discussion. Most gamblers will have a hard time classifying themselves as professionals, and there may be some reasons why it would not be considered advantageous to doso.

Can You Write Off Gambling Losses Against Winnings

Without any further delay, let’s take a look at 7 things you should know about gambling and your US individual income tax return.