There is a BIG mistake that Lottery players make every day, in every State, City, wherever there is Lottery. I see this happen all the time and I sometimes see a person make this mistake and I will sometimes make their mistake my gain. I would say 95% of all people make this mistake and don't even know they are doing it. As a person who has wagered for 25-30 years, I know NOT to do this and I sometimes mention it when I see someone do this.
AND - it really doesn't have much to do with the Lottery. What is this big mistake?
Throwing away losing tickets! You NEVER want to do this, because it will (or can) cost you a lot of money. How? TAXES.
See, most people don't know that you can USE those losing tickets for tax purposes. Say you play once a week or every day. You lose, and like most, you toss your losing ticket (ANY kind of gambling ticket) on the ground, in the trash. I see them everywhere - and, I'll sometimes pick them up. Why?
Because of a mostly unknown tax law. Say you win a big Jackpot OR you have combined wins that have really added up. Let's say you have won $30,000 in 2015. And, you went ahead and paid the 25% tax when you collected your winnings, when you got your check. Well, you know that 25% (on $30,000 it would be around $7500) you paid on winnings? You can get some of that money BACK! How? With the losing tickets being claimed on your taxes.
Under IRS Tax Law (some of you already know this), you are allowed to take write-offs on losses up to the amount of winnings for that year. You won't get it all back, but you could get a healthy amount back. This really works well especially if you have lost MORE than you have won. So, you win $30,000 for that year, but say you lost around $40,000 in gambling losses. Any amount, you lost more than you won for the year. Well, that's when those losing tickets help you out. So, Joe lost 10 Grand and won $5000 = He can report losses of $5000 and his winnings are shown at $5000, so he can use those tickets as proof to reduce his taxes or improve his tax return, sometimes significantly. You always want to keep those tickets - just thrown 'em in a box, and if you win, you will be SO glad you have them. You get some of that tax back and losing tickets are the way to keep more of your winnings.
It does add up and, when you keep those Scratch Off tix, Drawings and other gambling tickets, you will know how much you have lost. Then, you need to have winnings (and proof) to make it work for your taxes. It DOES help. And, it can take the sting out of the 25% you are taxed on your Lotto Winnings. Any CPA or Tax Specialist can help you with this.
So, that is the biggest, most common mistake I see people make with Lottery tickets. If you don't play much, keep 'em anyway. Because, you never know when you might win - then you will need (or want to have) some losers to help get your taxed money back. You won't get all of it, but you can claim losses up to the amount of your winnings. So, think about it next time you buy $25, $50 worth of tickets and if they lose, throw them in a box in the closet. That way, if you do need them, you will have them. And, if you don't? Toss them out later. Just remember this - you must have proof of both winners and losers - IRS will check. Hope this helps. And, if you see a $50 card on the ground? Hey, grab it and toss it in your box. You never know, it might end up helping you. But, try and make sure tickets are your tickets and not other people's tickets. Losers aren't good, but in this case, you can recoup some of your money when they took 25% out of your winner. Hope you don't have a lot of losers = but, if you do, keep them - don't throw them away.
Cash Crown
Zeta Reticuli Star System
