Submitted By: someone
Answered: January 20, 2020 9:32 pm

I won some lottery money. What can I deduct?

You cannot simply net your gambling losses against your winnings. You must report all of the lottery money as income. Then, if you itemize personal deductions (using Schedule A) instead of claiming the standard deduction, you can deduct gambling losses as an “other” itemized deduction. Such losses are not limited to what you spent on lottery tickets; they include all gambling losses (e.g., horse racing, bingo) that you can prove, but the total deduction for gambling losses cannot exceed the gambling winnings you report.

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Tax Glossary

Self-employment tax

Tax paid by self-employed persons to finance Social Security coverage. In 2007, there are two rates. A 12.4% rate applies to a taxable earnings base of $95,700 or less and a 2.9% rate applies to all net earnings.

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