Some of you gamblers who have filed your taxes have already noticed it – and many of you procrastinators will find it out when you feverishly work on your returns this weekend. What is it?

It’s that ugly subject I call the “Gambler AGI Trap.”  

Many gamblers may be looking forward to receiving the economic stimulus payment the government is giving us this year. Perhaps you plan to use it to finance a casino vacation and/or to increase your gambling bankroll.

Information about this government “bonus” from the IRS Web site:   “In most cases, payments will range from $300 to $600 for individuals and $600 to $1200 for joint filers. Taxpayers may receive $300 for each qualifying child. Payments could be less, depending on tax liability and Adjusted Gross Income. Phase-out reduction begins at $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers.” (Bold and underlining added) 

In the new expanded edition of Tax Help for Gamblers Marissa and I list 21 possible negative effects of the AGI Trap, the requirement that you must put your gross gambling win number as income rather than using a net win figure. Here now comes #22: You may not get the max amount of the economic stimulus payment because your AGI (adjusted gross income) is too high, and the ironic thing is that it may be too high only because of your gross gambling wins. Your actual net win at the end of the year, after deducting your losses, would be much lower; in fact for most gamblers, they actually suffered a net loss. But you may still have to endure the punishment of a reduction in your bonus. 

If you have questions about how your gambling can affect your AGI or other tax questions which puzzle taxpayers, I have an announcement that will help you get answers much more quickly than before. (This is great for you procrastinators who may be scratching your heads this weekend!)  Tax Help for Gamblers is now available as an e-book. You can go to the LVA Store and download it and start getting tax information you need in mere minutes! And the price is downright rock-bottom frugal – only $9.98. 

While you are at the e-book page, you will see there are 3 other e-books besides the tax one. This is the wave of the future – so look for more titles from Huntington Press in the future.

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