Gambling Gets Expensive

The Internal Revenue Service issued a decision this week that casual gamblers recognize wins or losses when they redeem their tokens.  This means that if you go gambling for the weekend and have a win on the first day and then lose money on the second day, each time you cash in your tokens is a separate recognition event for income tax purposes.  Thus, if you turn in $200 for chips and then walk out with $800, the $600 is your win and must be added as income when you complete your taxes, even if you gamble other times throughout the year for a loss.