> FWIW, Sched C filing is likely a weak alternative by which to avoid
> the penalty in long form filing to report gambling activity that's
> inherent for those who otherwise would file short form (most often,
> non-home owners and those in states w/o income tax).
>
Well, from my experience, it hasn't been a "weak" alternative at
all. As you obliquely point out, for someone already filing long
form, it's not much trouble at all to tack on a Schedule C. Keep in
mind that we're talking about itemizing SIGNIFICANT gambling
wins/losses here; if you gamble enough so that this becomes an
issue, or if you had a big score this year, you are in all
likelihood in long form territory anyway.
The big plus is that if you report your gambling activity as income-
generating, then you can avoid the choppiness that comes from big
wins and losses: you report NET gambling income. Furthermore, you
can deduct related expenses: this is not trivial. A third benefit is
that there is some ability (being reduced all the time, but still..)
to carry losses forward, which a 1040 filer cannot do at all.
I've filed 1040 long+Sched C for about fourteen years now, and never
a peep from the tax monster--even with .75 million in W2-G's in one
year.
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