Tax Time Coming for Poker Players

The Internal Revenue Service has made it official, and starting today the winners of poker tournaments are going to have to report their earnings. When casinos pay out $5,000 or more to the winners of poker tournaments, the check will come along with a tax form. The initial IRS proposal would have had casinos holding a quarter of any winnings paid out in such a fashion, but the new proposal, now law, is seen as a bit of a compromise. The forms will serve two purposes: they will ensure that the IRS gets their cut of poker winnings, and they will form a paper trail to help the IRS keep track of poker players in general.