Help! I hit the Super.

[Dana666]

1) Just get a good accountant who knows about these matters--never do your taxes by yourself if you gamble. I have avoided so many problems by paying someone who handles all the audits and inquiries which I seem to get almost every year.

2) See if you\'re ahead towards the end of the year; if you still are, you may want to gather losing tickets and programs and racing forms (start in August or September) in an attempt to document more losses. Do you use a wagering account? If so, you probably have accurate records of wins and losses, so you don\'t need or want to gather losing tickets in that case b/c they won\'t be accepted.

3) Just enjoy the winnings for now. Making a big score in May is no gurantee of being ahead in December, so I really wouldn\'t worry about it. If you\'re a very small player, and you know you won\'t come close to throwing it back, then you should start documenting lossses now. Worst case scenario, even if you do throw a lot back is that you\'d be legit in claiming lossess and get a huge refund back in 2013. You can\'t lose either way really.

Enjoy the win--they don\'t come around too often like that.

[Dana666]

One word of caution-if you\'ve never claimed lossess close to that amount you may not want to try that b/c it will look suspicious. Best case is to follow the rules (even though they suck) so you don\'t have to worry too much. My accountant is a very straight guy who never does anything illegal--better that way really--much less stress.

[BB]

I believe I have met this American poster of whom you speak, and have seen him scrupulously record numbers on a piece of paper, so I\'m sure he\'s right with the IRS.

And for all our friends north of the border in the vicinity of Lake Ontario, please look out for that minivan with New York plates swinging that towed boat across lanes like a blackjack ... that\'ll be my father-in-law again.

[Lost Cause]

Dana666 Wrote:
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> One word of caution-if you\'ve never claimed
> lossess close to that amount you may not want to
> try that b/c it will look suspicious. Best case is
> to follow the rules (even though they suck) so you
> don\'t have to worry too much. My accountant is a
> very straight guy who never does anything
> illegal--better that way really--much less stress.


The only problem with the above Dana is that his previous reported losses were capped by the amount won previously so if this is an extraordinary year winwise it doesn\'t mean he should not report a higher amount of losses this year just to keep in line with previously reported amounts.  If you have the proof to offset the winnings there is no reason you should not claim them.

[HP]

Thing is, if you don\'t have signers you really don\'t have the opportunity to report losses?  You can\'t just make a tax deduction because you lose money gambling?  In a way it\'s exactly like capital gains/losses.  You can only offset the capital losses from capital gains, so if you don\'t have any gains, you have to carry the losses forward for awhile UNTIL you have gains to deduct them from.  You can\'t just deduct the losses from your income.  Same with gambling.  You need winners/signers to have the means to deduct the losses.    

So if one year you don\'t report any losses and next year you have big winners and offset them somewhat with losses I don\'t think they view that as out of line at all.  The more I think about it, it really is EXACTLY like the market and capital gains/losses.  That\'s why my idea to let the feds take 1% out of the takeout instead makes so much sense.  The way it\'s set up now they only get a fraction of the tax on winnings since the winnings have to be over a certain amount to trigger the whole thing.  My way they can make money every damn day and leave us alone when we win.  

HP

[Dana666]

Of course, if they\'re actual losses. I was under the impression he was asking how do I claim losses even if I haven\'t really lost--you know finding losing tickets and that kind of thing. I once knew this old dude who would always sign for everyone--he did it for years, eventually he got busted and went to jail!

[Lost Cause]

Dana666 Wrote:
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> Of course, if they\'re actual losses. I was under
> the impression he was asking how do I claim losses
> even if I haven\'t really lost--you know finding
> losing tickets and that kind of thing. I once knew
> this old dude who would always sign for
> everyone--he did it for years, eventually he got
> busted and went to jail!

How was that possible??...The only thing I can see is if that guy didn\'t file any returns for those years..Seriously, do you know what happened?  I do the taxes for a bunch of those signers and I need to know.

[Dana666]

I think when people would win, he would offer to sign for them, and then over the course of the year, he would collect losing tickets and then claim lossess at the end of the year so he would get a lot back the next year, whatever was withheld. I suppose the guys whom he signed for threw him a few dollars here and there too, but he went to jail for several years for tax fraud. I still don\'t really get why they would let/want him to sign for them in the first place, but this went on for many years, and then the IRS and FBI invesitaged and he was gone! He\'s back now by the way at the same track, a little worse for wear.

[Lost Cause]

Dana666 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think when people would win, he would offer to
> sign for them, and then over the course of the
> year, he would collect losing tickets and then
> claim lossess at the end of the year so he would
> get a lot back the next year, whatever was
> withheld. I suppose the guys whom he signed for
> threw him a few dollars here and there too, but he
> went to jail for several years for tax fraud. I
> still don\'t really get why they would let/want him
> to sign for them in the first place, but this went
> on for many years, and then the IRS and FBI
> invesitaged and he was gone! He\'s back now by the
> way at the same track, a little worse for wear.

Are you sure the gambling winnings were the reason for the tax fraud charges.  Something doesn\'t seem right.  Especially if the FBI was involved.  Sounds like internet gambling or something...Could be wrong but I don\'t think the FBI would be chasing down a signer.

[Dana666]

I know something def. wasn\'t right! I never got close enough to the situation to know all the detail. I know he was signing for people though--he did it for many years.

[Lost Cause]

Dana666 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know something def. wasn\'t right! I never got
> close enough to the situation to know all the
> detail. I know he was signing for people
> though--he did it for many years.


Thanks Dana , I can almost guarantee there was more going on than just the signing..