Question about poker winnings?

Question

Hi, I just recently turned 21 yrs old, and I have been playing Texas hold'em since i have been around 16 or so. I have quite a bit of experience, and I am looking to start playing more often. I went to a casino nearby the day after my 21st birthday and won minimal (like 30 dollars or so), and just out of curiosity, around 2 days ago I started playing online poker. I only bought in for around 25 dollars, but I got up to around 180 before falling back to around 115$. I was just wondering if this is major for not filing taxes on, and what I need to start doing for future play? Also, I was wondering what one must do before getting audited by the IRS? Any information is welcome because I'm new to the whole gambling/paying taxes on it thing. Thanks in advance for your input.

Answer 1

As a general rule, you don't have to worry about gambling winnings until you hit $10k in the US. All gambling winnings over 10k are reported to the IRS, and if you deposit a check over 10k, the bank also reports that to the IRS.

Once you are over that threshold, and winnings are seriously large, you should start documenting your gambling more carefully. At this stage, you should consult an accountant.

Answer 2

I run a website that recommends online companies to gamble... 1st thing you need to do is check your local jurisdiction to check the limitations of online gambling…  2- Make sure you are playing with a well know, reputable online poker room… there are a lot of places that will take your money but when it comes to collect your winnings they will give you h**l. 3- Offshore gambling companies will send you the winnings (if is a good one) and it is up to you if you declare that to IRS. They don’t have a way to check on how much are you winning.