Does Michigan Tax Casino Winnings

  

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All gambling winnings received from slot machines are subject to federal taxes, and both cash and non-cash winnings (like a car or a vacation) are fully taxable. Apart from slot machines, the same applies to winnings from lottery, bingo, keno, poker or other games of chance. Whether it's $5 or $5,000, from an office pool or from a casino, all gambling winnings must be reported on your tax return as 'other income' on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8.If you win a non-cash.

These final regulations do not change the existing reporting thresholds for bingo, keno, and slot machine play.” For taxpayers, gambling winnings are treated as taxable income on federal income tax. For federal taxes, lottery winnings are taxed according to the federal tax brackets. Federal tax brackets are progressive, so portions of the winnings are taxed at different rates, and could be as high as 37%. State income taxes vary by location. Some states do not have a state income tax, while others may withhold up to 8.82%.

There’s no gray area in the U.S. Tax code, though. It says that you must pay taxes on money that you earn if you are a citizen of the country. That includes money earned through gambling — this goes beyond mere poker games — and it counts money you earn overseas. There’s a bigger picture here, as well. Maybe you never earned the money.

Do you like to gamble? If so, then you should know that the taxman beats the odds every time you do. The Internal Revenue Service and many states consider any money you win in the casino as taxable income. This applies to all types of casual gambling – from roulette and poker tournaments to slots, bingo and even fantasy football. In some cases, the casino will withhold a percentage of your winnings for taxes before it pays you at the rate of 24 percent.

Casino Winnings Are Not Tax-Free

Casino winnings count as gambling income and gambling income is always taxed at the federal level. That includes cash from slot machines, poker tournaments, baccarat, roulette, keno, bingo, raffles, lotteries and horse racing. If you win a non-cash prize like a car or a vacation, you pay taxes on the fair market value of the item you win.

By law, you must report all your winnings on your federal income tax return – and all means all. Whether you win five bucks on the slots or five million on the poker tables, you are technically required to report it. Job income plus gambling income plus other income equals the total income on your tax return. Subtract the deductions, and you'll pay taxes on the resulting figure at your standard income tax rate.

How Much You Win Matters

While you're required to report every last dollar of winnings, the casino will only get involved when your winnings hit certain thresholds for income reporting:

  • $5,000 (reduced by the wager or buy-in) from a poker tournament, sweepstakes, jai alai, lotteries and wagering pools.
  • $1,500 (reduced by the wager) in keno winnings.
  • $1,200 (not reduced by the wager) from slot machines or bingo
  • $600 (reduced by the wager at the casino's discretion) for all other types of winnings but only if the payout is at least 300 times your wager.

Win at or above these amounts, and the casino will send you IRS Form W2-G to report the full amount won and the amount of tax withholding if any. You will need this form to prepare your tax return.

Understand that you must report all gambling winnings to the IRS, not just those listed above. It just means that you don't have to fill out Form W2-G for other winnings. Income from table games, such as craps, roulette, blackjack and baccarat, do not require a WG-2, for example, regardless of the amount won. It's not clear why the IRS has differentiated it this way, but those are the rules. However, you still have to report the income from these games.

What is the Federal Gambling Tax Rate?

Standard federal tax withholding applies to winnings of $5,000 or more from:

  • Wagering pools (this does not include poker tournaments).
  • Lotteries.
  • Sweepstakes.
  • Other gambling transactions where the winnings are at least 300 times the amount wagered.

If you win above the threshold from these types of games, the casino automatically withholds 24 percent of your winnings for the IRS before it pays you. If you cannot provide a Social Security number, the casino will make a 'backup withholding.' A backup withholding is also applied at the rate of 24 percent, only now it includes all your gambling winnings from slot machines, keno, bingo, poker tournaments and more. This money gets passed directly to the IRS and credited against your final tax bill. Before December 31, 2017, the standard withholding rate was 25 percent and the backup rate was 28 percent.

The $5,000 threshold applies to net winnings, meaning you deduct the amount of your wager or buy-in. For example, if you won $5,500 on the poker tables but had to buy in to the game for $1,000, then you would not be subject to the minimum withholding threshold.

It's important to understand that withholding is an entirely separate requirement from reporting the winning on Form WG-2. Just because your gambling winning is reported on Form WG-2 does not automatically require a withholding for federal income taxes.

Can You Deduct Gambling Losses?

If you itemize your deductions on Schedule A, then you can also deduct gambling losses but only up to the amount of the winnings shown on your tax return. So, if you won $5,000 on the blackjack table, you could only deduct $5,000 worth of losing bets, not the $6,000 you actually lost on gambling wagers during the tax year. And you cannot carry your losses from year to year.

Does Michigan Tax Casino Winnings

The IRS recommends that you keep a gambling log or spreadsheet showing all your wins and losses. The log should contain the date of the gambling activity, type of activity, name and address of the casino, amount of winnings and losses, and the names of other people there with you as part of the wagering pool. Be sure to keep all tickets, receipts and statements if you're going to claim gambling losses as the IRS may call for evidence in support of your claim.

What About State Withholding Tax on Gambling Winnings?

There are good states for gamblers and bad states for gamblers. If you're going to 'lose the shirt off your back,' you might as well do it in a 'good' gambling state like Nevada, which has no state tax on gambling winnings. The 'bad' states tax your gambling winnings either as a flat percentage of the amount won or by ramping up the percentage owed depending on how much you won.

Each state has different rules. In Maryland, for example, you must report winnings between $500 and $5,000 within 60 days and pay state income taxes within that time frame; you report winnings under $500 on your annual state tax return and winnings over $5,000 are subject to withholding by the casino due to state taxes. Personal tax rates begin at 2 percent and increase to a maximum of 5.75 percent in 2018. In Iowa, there's an automatic 5 percent withholding for state income tax purposes whenever federal taxes are withheld.

State taxes are due in the state you won the income and different rules may apply to players from out of state. The casino should be clued in on the state's withholding laws. Speak to them if you're not clear why the payout is less than you expect.

How to Report Taxes on Casino Winnings

You should receive all of your W2-Gs by January 31 and you'll need these forms to complete your federal and state tax returns. Boxes 1, 4 and 15 are the most important as these show your taxable gambling winnings, federal income taxes withheld and state income taxes withheld, respectively.

You must report the amount specified in Box 1, as well as other gambling income not reported on a W2-G, on the 'other income' line of your IRS Form 1040. This form is being replaced with a simpler form for the 2019 tax season but the reporting requirement remains the same. If your winnings are subject to withholding, you should report the amount in the 'payment' section of your return.

Different rules apply to professional gamblers who gamble full time to earn a livelihood. As a pro gambler, your winnings will be subject to self-employment tax after offsetting gambling losses and after other allowable expenses.

Read More:

Filing Michigan Taxes

Does Michigan Tax Casino Winnings Payouts

It is tax time again – and for some new workers it’s a brand-new thing. Figuring out and filing your tax forms can be exhausting to think about – not to worry, there is help. Here you will find answers, forms and more that will make your paperwork easier, faster and less stressful. Information below will help you determine your residency status, find the correct forms you need and give you other information you need to get started.

State income tax returns for 2019 are due Monday, April 15.

Michigan charges a 4.35 percent flat tax rate on all income. This will not change until September 30, at the earliest.

In addition to state taxes, there are several localities that also charge their own local income taxes, requiring locality-specific tax forms. Check with your city or county government.

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Michigan Tax Forms

  • MI Form MI-1040X - Michigan Amended Income Tax Return
  • MI Tax Booklet - Michigan Individual Income Tax Booklet
  • MI Schedule NR - Michigan Nonresident and Part-year Resident Schedule
  • Michigan Form MI-8453 - Michigan Individual Income Tax Declaration for e-file
  • Michigan Form MI-2210 - Michigan Underpayment of Estimated Income Tax
  • Michigan Form MI-1040-V - Michigan Individual Income Tax e-file Payment Voucher
  • Michigan Form MI-1040 - Michigan Individual Resident Income Tax Return
  • MI Form 4 - Application for Extension of Time to File Michigan Tax Returns
  • Michigan Schedule 2 - Michigan Nonrefundable Credits Schedule
  • Michigan Form MI-1040CR-5 - Michigan Farmland Preservation Credit Form
  • Michigan Taxable Income - Michigan Taxable Income Sources
  • Michigan Form MI-1040CR - Michigan Homestead Property Credit Form
Determine Your Resident Status so You File the Right Forms

What Michigan form you need to file is based on your legal residency, or where your permanent, official “home address” was during 2019. Michigan identifies its residents four ways: full-time Michigan residents, part-year residents, Michigan residents who worked in another state, residents of another state who worked or earned income from other sources in Michigan.

Michigan Residents

Does Michigan Tax Casino Winnings Payout

You are a Michigan resident if your permanent home, your legal address, was in Michigan for the entire year. Even if you spent a lengthy amount of time out of state – perhaps wintering on a beach – as long as you maintained a permanent home in Michigan that you went back to, you are a full-year Michigan resident for tax purposes. You will file your state taxes using Form MI-1040, in addition to your federal tax return. Information and instructions can be found in the state form.

Michigan Part-Year Residents

If you moved to or from Michigan during 2019 – causing a change of legal residence or “home address” – you are a part-year Michigan resident. As a Michigan part-year resident, you will be taxed on all income you earned from any source during the time you lived in Michigan. You may also be required to pay tax on Michigan income earned during any time you lived in another state. File a Michigan part-year resident return by including Schedule NR with your Form MI-1040. If you also were a legal resident of another state(s) during 2019, you will need to file state tax returns for each state and send copies to the other states.

Michigan Residents Working in Another State

If you were a Michigan resident and made income in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio or Wisconsin, you will not face dual taxation. Michigan has reciprocal tax agreements with these states in which they agreed not to tax each other’s legal residents. If one of the above states does withhold income you earned in that state, it is your responsibility to secure your refund. To claim the refund, file a nonresident tax return in that other state. RAB 1988-17 provides more information on these state-to-state agreements.

If you are a Michigan resident who earned income from a Canadian province or another other state (not a reciprocal state above) then Michigan can tax the out-of-state income you earned. No matter the source location, all money earned by Michigan residents is subject to Michigan tax. An exception exists, however, regarding income earned from some out-of-state business activity and you may be able to avoid dual taxation on that non-Michigan income by using Schedule 2 to claim a credit on your Michigan return.

Nonresident –Worked in Michigan

If you are a resident of another state but worked in Michigan or earned income from a Michigan source, you must file a Michigan state tax return for all wages, salaries and compensation you received from working in Michigan. Use Form MI-1040 and Schedule NR.

Does Michigan Tax Casino Winnings 2019

If you are a resident of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Minnesota, or Wisconsin, then Michigan will not tax your work-related income because of reciprocal agreements between Michigan and your state. These state-to-state deals only affect your income from wages, salaries and other employee compensation. If you are a resident of one of these states and Michigan withheld for taxes income earned in Michigan (accidentally disregarding the reciprocal agreements), it is your responsibility to file Michigan Form MI-1040 and Schedule NR to claim the refund. RAB 1988-17 provides additional information on these state agreements to avoid dual taxation.

Does Michigan Tax Gambling Winnings

Note that all other taxable income that comes from Michigan sources is considered taxable income to Michigan. For more information on taxable income in Michigan see the 2019 Michigan MI-1040 Individual Income Tax Instructions (download above).

Did you travel to Michigan and gamble? Did you win? No matter your residency, all winnings from gambling at casinos or racetracks in Michigan have to be declared on a Michigan return using Form MI-1040. The state-to-state reciprocal agreements discussed above regarding wages and salaries do not apply to gambling winnings.

Generally speaking, nonresidents are required to file a Michigan tax return for all taxable income earned or gained from Michigan sources. For more information on taxable income in Michigan see the 2019 Michigan MI-1040 Individual Income Tax Instructions (download above).