Guides

How gambling winnings are taxed, one question at a time.

• What is Form W-2G? The $2,000 threshold and 300x rule

  Form W-2G is the IRS form a casino, sportsbook or lottery sends when you win $2,000 or more. When it arrives, which wins get one, and what to do with it.

• Withholding vs. tax owed on gambling winnings

  Why the 24% taken at the window is rarely what you owe, and how to avoid a bill or penalty in April.

• Can you deduct gambling losses? The new 90% rule

  Win $20,000, lose $20,000, and you're still taxed on $2,000: from 2026 only 90% of losses count, capped at winnings, and only if you itemize.

• Keeping gambling records the IRS will accept

  The diary the IRS expects, the paperwork to keep with it, and why it matters more now that losses are capped.

• Professional vs. recreational gambler

  How the IRS decides whether gambling is your business, and what changes on your return if it is.

• Gambling winnings from another state

  When the state where you won taxes you, how your home state's credit works, and the states that break the pattern.