Marissa or I do not give out specific tax advice on public forums or in e-mails. This would not be ethical as we would not know individual facts and circumstances in each case. Marissa is an EA and has a business that includes tax preparation. You would need to contact her personally to find out her fees and set up an interview.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, all of your questions have been discussed in Chapter 3 of Tax Help for Gamblers. However, all of the subjects you mention are gray areas. Marissa has given some of her professional opinions in the book but with the disclaimer that there is no standardized interpretation of these issues by various tax preparers or even by IRS employees.
This is not really a good forum for you to get answers to your questions. Most tax professionals would not give opinions here. So the most you will get are personal opinions or personal experiences by non-professionals. Some of this information might be food for thought – but not guidance that is "God's truth." You need to check with a tax professional who will look at your total financial picture.
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Jean $¢ott, Frugal Gambler
http://queenofcomps.com/
http://jscott.lvablog.com/
UPDATED TAX BOOK
(Download 2015 eBook now)
From: mailto:vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2015 6:20 PM
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [SPAM][vpFREE] Re: Tax question
Any chance you can send these questions off to Marissa or speak to how you specifically deal with them? I acknowledge that I am just asking for informational purposes, there is no engagement letter, there is no formal relationship between me and anyone else that offers advice, etc.
1. A casino gives me a $50 dining coupon via mailer - it has an expiration date. Is this taxable income when I use it?
2. A casino gives me a $50 dining coupon after I played for an hour - it has an expiration date. Is this taxable income when I use it?
3. I earn 1000 points at a casino and can use them to get $10 freeplay or $20 worth of food at the restaurant. Are either of these taxable income when I use them, and if spending my points on food is, do I say that was $20 (food value) or $10 (cash value) worth of income?
4. I earn 1000 points at a casino and can ONLY spend the points on gifts at the gift shop. Is this taxable?
5. I earned $50 in gas gift cards while playing (did not spend points on them), are these taxable?
In my mind, prior to reading the book, I would have thought that only 3 (both food & freeplay) was taxable, and 5 was taxable. However, after reading the book, especially when it says gifts are not taxable, I'm pretty strongly inclined to believe 5 is not taxable, and 3 may only be taxable if you take the freeplay.
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