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Loseing Lottery tickets are a tax write off

True

[ 25 ]

[ 62.5% ]

False

[ 6 ]

[ 15.0% ]

I hope so

[ 2 ]

[ 5.0% ]

Dont Know

[ 5 ]

[ 12.5% ]

I will be looking in to it

[ 2 ]

[ 5.0% ]

Total valid votes

[ 40 ]

Discarded votes

[ 0 ]

Amazing Grace

rainbow lake
Canada
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November 2, 2005
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Aug 10, 2006, 12:18 pm

If you have lottery winning, those losing tickets can get you valuable tax deductions. For instance, if you win $1,000, but have $600 worth of losing tickets, you can itemize those losses and only pay taxes on $400 worth of lottery winnings. Lottery losses can be used as deductions to offset winnings for the same year in which they were purchased.
CASH Only

United States
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June 5, 2002
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Aug 10, 2006, 12:29 pm

Funny YOU started this thread. Canada DOES NOT tax lottery winnings.
RJOh

100

mid-Ohio
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March 24, 2001
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Aug 10, 2006, 1:02 pm

In the U.S. the tax payer is allowed a standard $4600 loss up front. A few years ago I matched 5of6 and won $1500 and I have over $2000 worth of losing tickets but I ended up paying an addition $250 for that win because my total losses including interest on credit, other expenses, other taxes and etc. and the $1500 I could deduct for losing lottery tickets didn't exceed $4600.
Since I could only claim losing lottery tickets up to amount I won, it would have been a different story had I won $10000 and had $9000 worth of losing lottery tickets.
Whether losing lottery tickets are deductible for the average U.S. tax payers depends on the amount he wins and the total amount he claims as a loss. The rules are different for a professional gambler who makes his living by gambling.

* you don't need to buy every combination, just the winning ones *
Lottery_Analyst

Georgia
United States
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January 15, 2003
260 Posts
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Aug 10, 2006, 1:53 pm

Amazing Grace,
Please make note that you can't just keep your lossing tickets and deduct them from your winnings. You "Must" maintain a Lottery Tax Log in order to make it legit. Otherwise, if you get audited by the IRS they will just through out that deduction.
Check the IRS website at www.irs.gov if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

John - LA
Coin Toss

Zeta Reticuli Star System
United States
Member #30,469
January 17, 2006
11,788 Posts
Online

Aug 10, 2006, 2:06 pm

John - LA
Good point. A lot of people getconfused on this. First, as has been posted, the rule is you can deduct lossses up to your winnings. People try to 'write off' a $2,000 win with $4,000 in losses - and they get those $4,000 in losses by scavenging lotto places, racetracks, Keno parlors, and sports books for losing tickets.
There's even been cases where people have won something reportable late in the year and then put together their collections of losers all in December or even the lasr weeks of December.
JimmySand9

United States
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July 11, 2003
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Aug 10, 2006, 2:24 pm

Quote: Originally posted by CASH Only on Aug 10, 2006
Funny YOU started this thread. Canada DOES NOT tax lottery winnings.

Lottery winnings are probably the only thing Canada doesn't tax.

(insert signature here)
Amazing Grace

rainbow lake
Canada
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November 2, 2005
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Aug 10, 2006, 4:29 pm

Your right about that im afraid they will start a sunshine tax if solar power gets really going
justxploring

Wandering Aimlessly
United States
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November 5, 2005
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Aug 11, 2006, 12:03 am

Quote: Originally posted by Amazing Grace on Aug 10, 2006
Your right about that im afraid they will start a sunshine tax if solar power gets really going

Funny. There is a Sunshine Tax! When you cross the border into Florida where there's an average of more than 300 days of sunshine a year, your income drops about 40%! I call it the sunshine tax. I guess you can also call it a tropical depression.
Coin Toss

Zeta Reticuli Star System
United States
Member #30,469
January 17, 2006
11,788 Posts
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Aug 11, 2006, 12:44 am

Income drops 40% coming in from Georgia or Alabama? That's scary!
Or Cuba?
BobP

Dump Water Florida
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June 5, 2002
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Aug 11, 2006, 1:55 am

Quote: Originally posted by JimmySand9 on Aug 10, 2006
Lottery winnings are probably the only thing Canada doesn't tax.

That's because the tax is in the ticket price, so everyone pays the tax for the winner. Certainly a more civilized method. BobP
bellyache

United States
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March 18, 2005
2,060 Posts
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Aug 11, 2006, 11:46 pm

Quote: Originally posted by Lottery_Analyst on Aug 10, 2006
Amazing Grace,
Please make note that you can't just keep your lossing tickets and deduct them from your winnings. You "Must" maintain a Lottery Tax Log in order to make it legit. Otherwise, if you get audited by the IRS they will just through out that deduction.
Check the IRS website at www.irs.gov if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

John - LA

I always thought that any tickets you had you could just right-off. I didn't know you had to keep track of them or anything. Thanks for the info John.
RJOh

100

mid-Ohio
United States
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March 24, 2001
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Aug 12, 2006, 12:08 am

Quote: Originally posted by bellyache on Aug 11, 2006
I always thought that any tickets you had you could just right-off. I didn't know you had to keep track of them or anything. Thanks for the info John.

You can write-off anything you think you can legally, it just if you get audited what you thought doesn't count, you need records to prove it.
I have a $2 planner in which I write all my lottery spendings and winnings. Tonight I entered MM/10/3 for 08/11 which shows I bought $10 worth of MegaMillions tickets on 08/11 and won $3( I had a 1+1 for $3). Below that notation I added $7 to the total I've lost this year and put it and my losing tickets in a box. I've kept the same type of records every year since I've started playing and have never used them for my taxes even for the year I won $1500. Maybe this year will be my lucky year.

* you don't need to buy every combination, just the winning ones *
justxploring

Wandering Aimlessly
United States
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November 5, 2005
4,461 Posts
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Aug 12, 2006, 1:07 am

Quote: Originally posted by Lottery_Analyst on Aug 10, 2006
Amazing Grace,
Please make note that you can't just keep your lossing tickets and deduct them from your winnings. You "Must" maintain a Lottery Tax Log in order to make it legit. Otherwise, if you get audited by the IRS they will just through out that deduction.
Check the IRS website at www.irs.gov if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

John - LA

Lottery-Analyst
I've never won enough to make a difference, but this is good to know for future reference. I don't think I buy enough tickets for it to matter, but I never even thought about keeping a log. It definitely makes sense. However, let's say I play the same games using the same numbers every week. Wouldn't a shoebox full of losing tickets, all with the same numbers be a pretty good indication that I was the person who bought them?

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