posted by BR1986FB
Actually, you write off your losses up to your gains. Been doing this for years. If you win 100k in jackpots (on slots) yet show that you've played/lost 200k on your win/loss statement, you're not taxed on the 100k. You don't get any benefit from the extra 100k lost, but you don't pay taxes on the 100k you won.
What I'm asking is that are you going to get hit immediately with a tax if you deposit (random amount) 5k in cash in your checking when you may/may not have to pay taxes on it year end, depending on your win/loss statement and then possibly get taxed a second time if you show a net win on the win/loss?
Yeah, I was mistaken - many states don't allow offsets, but the feds do. But the nature of jackpots means most people have nowhere near enough offset because the casual gamer can't carry losses forward. Slots and online have great records, but I'd guess if you were a big table games or track guy, the IRS would make it really hard on you.
As for your other question, I assume it will work similarly to the current automated reviews of returns. They'll match-up your bank deposits with your claimed income, and certain amounts or patterns of mismatches will trigger an audit. Depending on a bunch other stuff, you could owe a quarterly estimated payment if, say, you hit a $10k jackpot in May (no different than with investment gains).
But unless they add an army of agents, I imagine ordinary folks will never meet the threshold. So you're chance of an audit will probably remain around 1% or whatever the random audit percent is currently.
