[boojah]

I'm pretty sure not everyone here pays or reports their taxes and was wondering if depositing a check into my bank in the US, will the bank report the deposit, excess of $10,000, to the IRS? I have a good paying job and pay taxes on that but I happen to make good money betting as well and don't wish to pay taxes or raise any eye brows. Do those of you high rollers are you experiencing any problems or hassles from the government or should I always withdraw in amounts less than $10,000 like say $7,000 every week?

When I win big at vegas they ask for Social Security #'s and such which I never give them the real #'s and just spend the money freely. But now that I'm trying it online what do you guys do?

Thanks

[Sean]

The total dollar figure of a single transaction (i.e. $10,000+) is not the sole determining factor with regards to a financial institution's reporting requirements. The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requires, among other things, that a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) be filed if a customer's actions/transactions indicate the possibility of violating money laundering statutes or any other federal criminal law. See here for more info >>

IMO, players should report all gaming proceeds (offshore and/or "brick and mortar") accurately. Personally, I feel that gamblers have more to fear from the IRS than any other agency.

[Korchnoi]

I've taken out a lot of cash from the bank on several occasions and deposited some cash back. All transactions under $10K. I definitely took out more than I put back in and although I shuffle some money around, I'm not up that much (and I do pay taxes on what I make, it's usually a small amt of misc income). Do I have a legal responsibility to keep detailed records? Gambling represents less than 5% of my income so it's peanuts both relatively speaking and in actual dollar terms.

[louis]

It is not illegal to deposit checks for over $10,000. The bank will report it, and the IRS will have another report on top of the millions they have received so far. The IRS is simply flooded with paper work with these reports.

I recently bought a car for over $10,000, and sure enough the dealer filed a report. Do you know how many reports the IRS receives? One, two or three reports per year of transactions over $10,000 won't get you an audit.

If you decide to deposit two checks, for example $6000 each in order to avoid the report, you can be charged with structuring which is illegal. Trying to avoid having a report done is illegal, even if you have done nothing else illegal.

By the way, your net win from gambling is taxable. You must keep a journal of wins and losses.

[operaman]

Short answer,

Keep your tansactions at 4k or less for the lowest profile.

Don't sweat it if you go over this amount, the IRS is blind deaf and dumb.

[chano]

I'm pretty sure not everyone here pays or reports their taxes and was wondering if depositing a check into my bank in the US, will the bank report the deposit, excess of $10,000, to the IRS? I have a good paying job and pay taxes on that but I happen to make good money betting as well and don't wish to pay taxes or raise any eye brows. Do those of you high rollers are you experiencing any problems or hassles from the government or should I always withdraw in amounts less than $10,000 like say $7,000 every week?

When I win big at vegas they ask for Social Security #'s and such which I never give them the real #'s and just spend the money freely. But now that I'm trying it online what do you guys do?

Thanks

Sounds like aquestion someone from the Feds may ask. He has joined recent , I would beware.

[marc]

if it was a cash deposit, that would be one thing, check deposits don't get flagged. I've been making numerous check deposits in excess of 10k over the past few years and to my knowledge at least no reposrts have been filed.

The thing to remember though if the IRS ever does audit you, the first thing they will do is look at your bank statements and question you about any large deposits

[operaman]

Sounds like aquestion someone from the Feds may ask. He has joined recent , I would beware.

You know for a fact the irs is monitoring this site?

[louis]

Marc, the bank doesn't tell you if they issue a report. If you made a check deposit of over $10,000, the law says the bank must file a report.

It is automated, and not even the teller that took the deposit knows.

[Sean]

... check deposits don't get flagged.

False.

[chano]

You know for a fact the irs is monitoring this site?

No, I do not know for a fact. But you dont need facts to be cautious.

[vanzack]

There is so much bad advice on message boards its scary.

The 10K threshold means NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. If you walk in to 7-11 with 10K in cash they file the form. It is not filed for CHECKS, only CASH.

Your cumulative income is what the IRS is interested in, and what you should be interested in. Its very simple. The amount you win is INCOME.

It doesnt matter if that income is 7K at a time, 2K at a time, 20 cents at a time, or in one lump sum of 200K. The number that it adds up to is the number you need to declare as income, and if you dont you are in violation of the tax code.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is foolish and wrong. Anyone who speculates on your chances of getting caught is foolish and wrong. Anyone who tells you how to get away with it is foolish and wrong.

You are playing a lottery. Plain and simple.

[WWTSblows]

Transactions under 4k can still have a SAR filled out on them also. Structuring your payouts to stay under a certain level can get you in trouble also. I would assume though, most that they can't investigate even close to every SAR and is probably used more if they were investigating you for something else and ran a check to see if any SAR's were in your name. There will be risk, however chances are you won't get busted. That probably holds true for every time someone cheats on their taxes, though.

Cliff notes: Pay taxes on your winnings and sleep at night.

[Sean]

There is so much bad advice on message boards its scary.

Agreed vanzack ... that's the nature of the "beast" though with regards to open forums.

Here are some external resources for more information on this topic:

• Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

• US Code Collection - Cornell Law School
>> see: Laundering of Monetary Instruments
>> see: Monetary Transactions ... Unlawful Activity

Not exactly light reading, but accurate information nonetheless.

[hugmoney]

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/...159755,00.html

[MBENZ]

Apparently chano is the only one not wearing blinders.

[Cyclone]

I would agree that there is a lot of misinformation here. Technically, the CTRs go to FinCEN, and not the IRS. The IRS does have access to the information, however. Yes, they are flooded with millions of reports, and most are simply scanned into the database and forgotten. A CTR is only filed for CURRENCY transactions involving $10,000 or more. Checks, wires, and other such transactions are not reported on a CTR. The bank will ask for your information to complete a CTR. (They have to, the form asks for your name, driver's license number, occupation, etc). The bank is not supposed to tell you if they file an SAR. If you're worried, currency transactions under $4000 are usually ignored, unless you are doing a lot of them.

[Scorpion]

http://www.answers.com/topic/bank-secrecy-act

[pags11]

thanks for the info. sean and vanzack...

[marke4]

You guys are worrying about something that isn't really a problem. Believe me, if the IRS wanted to come after you for not filing online winnings your pretty much screwed unless you have taken extreme precautions.. Such as mailing cash to your bookie/online account via fedex and getting cash mailed back, or prepaid debit cards mailed back, or pay the good old 12% cashing check fee at any of those shady check cashing hubs. Remember the IRS is a gov't agency, but unlike most gov't agencies the IRS is a for profit agency. Unless they believe they will get far more in back taxes from you then it will cost to do a full investigation they won't waste their time. Unless you will owe something like 100K in back taxes you have nothing to worry about, and if you would owe more than 100K in back taxes due to your winning then GOOD FOR YOU!!! You should be proud of yourself.

[boojah]

Thank you all for your replies, I appreciate the knowledge and insight you guys have provided. I understand that this is a sensitive subject but I needed to hear what others in my situation have to say. To Chano, I joined this forum after my sportsbook started changing its ways and came here to look for a new/better one. Also checks cashing places do file the form if the check is over $10,000, I have tried it before and deposited into my bank couple years ago. After this thread I have decided to report some of my winnings but not all of it.

Thanks again everyone for your help. If you have more information to post please do, the more the better.

[boojah]

increasedodds, that is good to hear and makes me a little relieved. How much do you claim on your taxes for you to deposit so much and not get red flagged? Thanks