Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The holidays are over and before you know it, tax season will be here. Many people are already starting to get their documents in order.
It might seem benign that you won squares in an office pool or that you
won your fantasy football league. Listen up.
"Gambling income is taxable." That's right from the mouth of Esther Gulyas,
"the Tax Lady," President and CEO of EG Tax.
Here is an official explanation from the Internal Revenue Service.
"It's gambling income," she said on WBEN Monday. "Whether you receive form 1099-K, or not, all gambling income has to be reported."
Gulyas said she's been getting emails about this. "People are saying, I didn't get a 1099K, so I don't have to worry about it, right?"
The answer is yes, it's still income. And it's up to you to report it.
"This year," she said, "if it's less than $20,000, and less than 200 transactions, they won't send you the 1099K form, but that doesn't mean it's not taxable." Gulyas noted that next year, when you file your 2024 return, it drops to $5,000. After that, it will go down to the $600 figure.
If a third party provider like Venmo or PayPal is being used and total amount received by any one person is $600 or more during a calendar year, a 1099 is likely to follow.
Gambling losses can only be deducted by those engaging in an itemized deduction (as long as you keep all receipts).
These changes not only pertain to fantasy sports betting, but also selling event tickets.
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