If you’re a professional gambler, I sure hope you’re on a lucky streak. Because if you’re not, tax reform just cost you a lot of money.
To put this simply, lawmakers were never the professional gambler’s friend, but now, thanks to tax reform changes, your government is even less willing to cut you a break.
My advice? Before you head over to the casino, take a minute and read my new article titled Tax Tips: Tax Reform Makes Professional Gamblers Who Lose Money Suffer More!
Three ways our fact-filled article can help you:
- We’ll explain how tax law treated professional gamblers before tax reform. The picture wasn’t pretty. When professional gamblers lost money, they could deduct only the part of the loss attributable to business expenses. Unfair! But things get even worse after tax reform as you’ll see when you read the full after-tax-reform article.
- You’ll learn how the IRS has to treat professional gamblers after tax reform. Beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, the pro gambler who incurs losses for the year gets a zero deduction. Period. There’s no deduction for any part of the losses as we’ll explain when you read the full after-tax-reform article.
- We’ll give you a little good news. The professional gambler who makes a profit from a pass-through entity, such as a proprietorship, qualifies for the 20-percent tax deduction under Section 199A. You’ll get all the details when you read the full article.