witholding taxes on winnings

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by docicu3

Why would you have to list yourself as a professional gambler? I was unaware that you had to list an occupation to be able to offset your capital gains from gambling. I thought you were pretty safe keeping your losing tickets and/or your logs from ADW's to document losses for evidence if your audited.

I wrote that there are two ways to write off losses against gambling wins. One way is to itemize deductions. The second way is to file a Sch C saying gambling is your business.

Filing a Sch C has the advantage of being able to deduct expenses in addition to losses. (and it also bypasses the itemizing requirement) Filing a Sch C has the disadvantage of having to pay self-employment tax on net profit and possibly inviting IRS scrutiny, too.

--Dunbar