How To Pay Taxes On Sweepstakes Winnings: Stake.us, Chumba Casino & Luckyland Slots
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When you play at recommended online casinos, you may secure a real cash win. Sweepstakes and social casinos offer many ways to win real prizes. With this in mind, it is important that you know exactly what you need to do, who you should report it to, and what is taxable income.
Continue reading to find out more about taxable income and these top three sweepstakes and social sites in the US.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires you to report all your income when you file your tax return. Naturally, you will include your income from job wages, but it does not stop there. What you may not realize is that you must also report your casino winnings too. This means that you may have to pay tax on your winnings, regardless of how much or little you won.
Any winnings from gambling may be considered to be income and therefore, you must pay tax on the amount you have won. When you report your casino winnings, this will be used to help calculate how much tax you owe. If you withhold any important information, this will affect the accuracy of your tax.
Regardless of what game you are placing bets on, if it is considered to be gambling, then you must report it. All winnings must be reported along with your usual tax return. This includes all forms of casino games such as blackjack, slot machines, table games, progressive slots, and even the lottery.
Overall, if you receive any amount of money, then it can be considered to be taxable income. However, you may be able to offset the winnings with your losses. Just because you made an overall loss, you should not assume that you are good to not report the winnings at all. Even if you made an overall loss, after deducting your winnings, you will still need to report the winnings. You will then be advised on whether or not your winnings are classed as taxable income.
The IRS recommends that you keep track of all your winnings and losses incurred from gambling online. If you are a regular casino player or bettor, it would be a good idea to keep a file or notebook with the required information and evidence.
By keeping a record of everything, it will make completing your tax return quicker and easier. You are also far more likely to receive deductions of losses and expenses when you have solid proof.
The IRS has provided the following list as a guide for what pieces of information you should keep:
- Dates of wagers
- Types of wagers placed
- Amount of winnings
- Amount of losses
- Address of the casino or gambling premise
- Name of witnesses who were present at the time of the winnings
- Bank transactions
- Documentation of losses, such as losing lottery tickets
If you receive any hard copies or digital receipts, then you should also keep hold of these as a record of proof. Overall, absolutely any piece of evidence that you have that shows your winnings, losses, or expenses should be kept. Regardless of how minor you may feel the information is, it is best to keep it, just in case it is helpful.
You may be pleased to hear that there is a chance that you can deduct some of your losses and expenses. Although, these are usually under specific circumstances. To claim deductions on your tax return, you must report your winnings and expenses separately. Deductions can also only be made if you keep a list of itemized losses.
After you have completed your tax return, you may be required to complete an additional form. Whether or not you are asked to complete a form, depends largely on the amount of winnings you have had.
If you have received enough money in prizes from gambling, you may be asked to complete a W-2G tax return form. You may also be sent a W-2G form if it withholds your winnings or part of your winnings for federal income tax purposes.
In this next section, the best sweepstake casinos will be listed, as well as any unique features that might draw you to them. Don’t forget, as these top-rated online casinos offer the chance of winning real prizes, you must keep a record of these to include within your next tax return.
Many have found Stake.us to be the best sweepstakes casino around, and for good reason too. It offers the best user experience overall with amazing casino games to play. Stake.us has over 300+ casino games, including Stake Originals that you cannot find anywhere else online.
Creating an account at Stake.us is easy. Simply decide whether you want to sign up using your email address or social media account, and you can be up and running in just a few minutes. You can enjoy all the games on offer on PC, mobile, and tablet, with its adaptable and mobile-optimized site.
Stake.us is known for its ongoing promotions and they even have an exclusive 5% rakeback offer you to use on the site. When you are registering an account, use the promo code MIKBONUS to claim back a percentage of the house edge on all losses.
- Mobile-optimized site
- 300+ casino games
- Stake Originals that have been developed in-house
- Great ongoing bonuses
Stake.us offers plenty of ways to unlock Sweeps Coins which can be redeemed for real prizes. With this in mind, you should remember to keep track of all your winnings and losses so you can accurately report them.
Chumba Casino is another great sweepstakes and social casino. It is a huge global company that is well-known in the industry. It has plenty of casino games on offer, including fun slot machines, classic table games, and jackpots. With over a hundred different games to choose from, there is something to suit everyone.
The site design is very simple but modern and offers great functionality all around. The site is easy to navigate and has an overall user-friendly appeal. You are not restricted to what device you would like to use to play casino games either, as the platform supports all types of devices. You can access the Chumba Casino site from your mobile, tablet, or PC, all without compromising on quality.
Like many other sweepstake casinos, Chumba Casino offers a good selection of ongoing bonuses. To maximize your bankroll, you have the opportunity to take part in competitions and daily bonuses. What’s more, is that you can even request additional virtual coins by postal request and claim free Sweeps Coins with every Gold Coin purchase.
- Plenty of chances to unlock free Sweeps Coins
- 24/7 customer service
- Mobile-optimized site
- Play hundreds of games for free
As mentioned above, Chumba Casino is great for ongoing bonuses. This means you may be in with a chance of winning more Sweeps Coins, which can be exchanged for real prizes. Real prizes may include real money, gift cards, or merchandise. Remember to keep a note of all your winnings and keep a record of all documentation to prove any losses.
Luckyland Slots is a solid choice for anyone looking for an online sweepstakes casino to win real prizes. Luckyland Slots offers a huge range of play-for-fun games with opportunities to win prizes along the way. When you unlock Sweeps Coins, you can eventually exchange these for prizes that have real-world value. When you withdraw your winnings from Luckyland Slots, they pay you via bank transfer, which is one of the most secure and fastest payment methods.
When you sign up for an account with Luckyland Slots, you are eligible for a welcome bonus of 10 free Sweeps Coins. You can use these virtual coins to play games on the website and eventually cash out for prizes.
Luckyland Slots has a great offering of casino games that you can enjoy on whatever device you are using. Thanks to the adaptable site, the Luckyland Slots website is available to access on mobile, tablets, and PC. The site is also suitable and compatible with Android and iOS.
- Good range of casino games
- Great social media competitions
- Play games for free
- 24/7 customer service
As with Stake.us and Chumba Casino, you are in with a chance of winning some great real prizes on the site. Remember, that all prizes you win may be taxable, so you should keep a record of all winnings and losses. Read up on guides on how to keep a good record of documentation, and what may be deducted from your tax return.
After reading this article, you should feel more confident about paying taxes on sweepstakes winnings. Whether you realized it or not, you should be reporting all winnings and losses for your tax return. Now that you have read this guide, you will be armed with everything you need to know to get started. You can begin by keeping track of your winnings and the type of deductions you may be eligible for.
The top three sweepstakes casinos in the US have also been discussed – Stake.us, Chumba Casino, and Luckyland Slots. When you next play at one of these recommended sweepstakes casinos, do not forget to keep note of your winnings in order to stay on top of your tax return.
Yes, winnings from Stake.us may be considered taxable income. For this reason, you need to report any winnings so that you can pay taxes on winnings at Stake.us.
Yes, no matter whether it’s as Chumba Casino or Luckyland Slots, paying tax on winnings is always required.
All types of income are considered to be taxable income, whether it is from work or gambling. However, there are exceptions to this where you can deduct losses and expenses.
