What ID Do You Need if You Hit an IRS Jackpot?

Do you need to have a copy of your Social Security card should you have an IRS winning? Is a players card sufficient with proper ID?

We receive ID questions all the time. We haven't answered one in a while, so here it is again.

On any single jackpot of $1,200 or more, the casino must issue tax paperwork (the W-2G) to the jackpot winner; a copy also goes to the IRS.

But according to our book, Tax Help for Gamblers Fourth Edition, no federal or state law requires a U.S. citizen to give printed proof of his Social Security number in order to be issued a W-2G and paid a jackpot. He or she can provide it verbally or in writing. To ensure that a player gives the correct number, the casino gives the player a W-9 form, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification. By signing this form, the player certifies, under penalties for perjury, that this is the correct Social Security number. This shifts legal responsibility from the casino to the player.

Now, you don’t have to give your Social Security number, if you have one; any number of U.S. citizens don't and some who do don't have it memorized. But if you don't give it up, the IRS requires that the casino withhold 28% of the winnings for federal income tax.

This most often comes into play when Canadians and other foreigners hit jackpots in the U.S. Obviously, unless they have dual citizenship, of which the U.S. is one, they won’t have a Social Security number.

"Some casinos seem to mix up Social Security cards and ID cards. You do have to show a valid ID or the casino can refuse to pay off a W-2G jackpot until you do. You do not have to show your original Social Security card. In fact, it is written right on your Social Security card that it is not to be used as identification," Jean Scott and Marissa Chien write in Tax Help for Gamblers. This is most common at Native American casinos, though whether it's a mix-up or something else, we can't say.

"What can you do if a casino doesn’t seem to be following the IRS rules and requires an original Social Security card? Ask to speak to a supervisor or even a senior casino executive. One player suggested carrying W-9 forms with you (they can be printed out from the IRS website) and giving one to the casino employee making this mistaken request. He said that some new and/or small casinos, especially Native American ones, don’t seem to know about this option."

When it comes to U.S. IDs, acceptable types include:

Driver’s license
State-issued ID card
Military ID card
Passports
Passport cards

Driver’s authorization cards, tribal-issued IDs, and other non-government ID types will typically be turned away.

International gamblers have fewer options. Acceptable IDs for non-U.S. persons:

Passport
Government-issued driver’s license

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Kevin Lewis Oct-05-2021

Casino ignorance, Episode 1,117

I was playing .50 Triple Play Double Bonus at the Palms. I was dealt four aces, for a jackpot of $1,200. The casino drones tried to issue me a W2-G. I told them that since I had wagered $7.50 on the hand, my actual winnings were $1,192.50 and therefore below the mandatory reporting threshold. My complaints fell on deaf ears and they threatened to withhold that 28% if I didn't give them the info needed to make out the W2-G.

Considerably later and after talking to a succession of people higher and higher on the food chain at Nevada Gaming Control, I found that I had been right in my assertion. So NGC immediately ordered that the Palms should be burned to the ground. Things must have gotten lost in the shuffle, though; it didn't happen, damn it.

Donzack Oct-05-2021

foid card

Once in Illinois I tried to use my pictures firearm owner identification card. They wouldn’t accept it. I related that this card is issued by the state of Illinois and guarantees that I’m not a felon and other good things. Still denied. In Illinois I saw a player was grabbed by gaming during a hand pay as he popped in the computer for being behind in child support. Will that happen in Nevada? And it wasn’t me.

Pat Higgins Oct-05-2021

Bigbtex

The wife and I always carry a small paper form an record all wins & losses so we have a list of session losses.  The losses can be deducted from the big taxable win

VegasROX Oct-05-2021

Higgins on taxes

You might want to gather the latest IRS guide to reporting gambling wins and losses on your taxes.  Times have changed and simply writing off losses against wins isn't as simple as it used to be. Tax law changes a few years ago, made that simple way to do things, extinct. You can download the new rules from the IRS website or your local accountant who is well versed in taxes can explain the newest (and NOT so greatest) rules.  Don't get surprised by a surprise tax bill by not following the rule.

Lucky Oct-05-2021

Taxes

Its too bad that when Trump had the house and senate, they could not change the reporting threshold, which they said they would do.  I gess with all the sideshows, they never even discussed it. Now they want to go after every transaction over $600, including your banking transactions. Deposit your paycheck, and if over $600, the feds know instantly, and the info includes how much you have and all your other liked accounts. Big Brother, Socialism and Communism on the way.  Pretty soon every little slot win will entail an automatic report to the IRS, manditorilly linked to your player card, which will also be mandatory. If your taxes dont exactly match, you are audited.  Not gonna be fun any more. Back to the back room casinos who only deal in cash.

rokgpsman Oct-05-2021

SocSec card

I don't carry my Social Security card, it's put away someplace safe. You don't have to show it to anyone at the casino. 
.
The weekly podcast from Anthony and Andrew is super!  Watching Andrew and his mannerisms reminds me of the young comedian named Richard Lewis from years ago.

O2bnVegas Oct-05-2021

SS card required

Hopefully changed by now, but Oaklawn Casino in Arkansas insisted I had to show my SS card to receive a jackpot (over $1200).  I complained, asked for a supervisor, showed my Medicare card which had my SS number, all to no avail.  I found my SS card (a miracle in itself), came back to collect.  Haven't been back in years, so can't say how it is now.

VegasRox is correct that deducting losses on the tax form isn't like it used to be.  Somehow winnings are first added to income; a line on the form accounts for gambing losses but it doesn't "zero out" like in past years.  It makes a difference, and not a good one like in the past.

And that $600 transaction minimum was proposed recently, didn't apply only to gambling.  Withdraw or deposit $601 to your checking account and a CTR is required.  It was voted down (again), recognized for the gridlock it would cause in many sectors.  Still worrisome that it raised its ugly head again.

Candy

Carl LaFong Oct-05-2021

LVA: please clarfy

Kevin L. asserts that the $1,200 jackpot hit is to be reduced by the amount of the bet placed thereby rendering this threshold null. It's always been my understanding that any single hit of $1,200 triggers the paperwork regardless of the size of the wager which brought the hit. What's the truth?

Deke Castleman Oct-05-2021

From a CPA gambler

The reporting threshold for slots or video poker is $1,200, regardless of the initial wager.  Here is the relevant instruction from IRS form W-2G:

1. The winnings (not reduced by the wager) are $1,200 or more from a bingo game or slot machine.

Question of the Day - 05 October 2021

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