when you recieve a W2G from a handpay, how do tax withholdings work? can I elect not to have witholdings? (example, I hit a 20k handpay on a $5 slot machine) would my handpay only be 15k and they would withhold the other 5k for taxs? if I lose the 15k can I get my 5k back or is that gone till the end of the year?
If you are a US citizen with a social security number and ID, then they are NOT required to take taxes out at the time of the hand pay, UNLESS you request them to do so. They will provide you with a W2G for tax reporting purposes for the full hand pay amount. If you do not provide your social security number and ID, they will take the taxes out and provide you with a W2G showing that you already paid the taxes on that amount. Then it is up to you to show enough losses to offset this at tax time. No, you can not get the withheld taxes back from the casino. Take a look at this thread for a lot of good info on US Citizens and paying taxes on gambling winnings.
Great post, shock. You will need to itemize your deductions in order to claim losses to offset the winnings.