hey y’all! i’ve been playing at a few sweepstakes casinos for a while now and i finally hit a decent prize. nothing life-changing but enough that i’m wondering… do i have to pay taxes on sweepstakes casino winnings? i know with regular casino stuff the IRS gets involved, but sweeps are technically not gambling right? or do they still report it? anyone dealt with this before? just trying to figure out if i need to save some for tax season or if it’s all good
Congrats on the win! Yeah, the tax thing with sweeps is a little confusing but basically the IRS treats sweepstakes winnings as “other income” just like if you won a prize on a game show. You’re supposed to report it on your taxes. The casinos will send you a 1099-MISC if you win over $600 in a year, but even if they don’t, you’re still technically supposed to report it. I always keep a record of my redemptions just in case. Not a tax pro or anything, but that’s what I’ve learned from chatting around here.
Yeah what Laura said. I had to deal with this last year. Just make sure you keep track of your redemptions. If you redeem over $600 total in a year they’ll send you a 1099. I use a spreadsheet to track mine so I’m not scrambling come tax time. Not financial advice but that’s what I do.