Mr. Mister asked: I am curious about a scenario where a person wins, say, $250,000 at a site like Full Tilt Poker. First off, can they just transfer the money into their bank account without any problems? After that, what kind of taxes will they have to pay? Are the any (legal) options that would reduce the total tax amount?
Free Roulette
Just like any business…winnings are reported as income and losses as expenses.
I have a friend who won $500,000 in online poker. He did have to pay a large amount in taxes. I’m not sure about legal options to reduce it, though, he just did what his tax guy told him to do and said it was “a lot” but not as much as he thought it would be. Congrats!
Is it really possible to win that much at online poker?
It is a voluntary reporting system, so they say.
No, it is taxable income. The only way to decrease it is to off set it with losses. You may deduct your gambaling losses, to the extent that you had winnings.
If you won 250 and lost 250 you would declare the income and the deduction so no tax. If you won 100 and lost 250, you can only deduct 100.
You poker shark you!
any winnings in excess of $1500 are subject to a IRS form 1099. I would suggest withdrawing your winnings a little at a time, open multiple checking accounts and slowly deposit it a little at a time so as not to cause suspicion…..
question is…what site did you go play at so i can go play
All winnings are taxable no matter the size of the pot. Winnings goes on Line 21, 1040 tax form.