Germany's World Cup loss also costs betting N.J. governor

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Germany's World Cup loss also costs betting N.J. governor

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

NJ Gov Phil Murphy places first legal sports bet June 14 2018 AP video screenshot

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) places the state's first legal sports bets on June 14 at Monmouth Park Racetrack. (Screenshot from AP coverage. Click image to view full video.)

New Jersey's governor put his money behind the Garden State's new sports betting option. Now he's paying for that.

New Jersey started taking bets on sporting events on June 14, a month after the Supreme Court ruled in the state's favor and three days after Gov. Phil Murphy signed the law making his and, N.J. establishments hope, millions of other such wagers legal.

The debut of the new sports betting offering at casinos and racetracks throughout the state coincided with the start of the World Cup football (or soccer as it's known here in the United States) tournament.

Executive betting example: After affixing his signature to the new law, the Democratic chief of state took advantage of his position and placed the first legal sports bet in New Jersey.

In making sports wagering legal, Murphy lauded the effort as another way that N.J. casinos in Atlantic City and racetracks throughout the state to "attract new business and new fans, boosting their own long-term financial prospects. This is the right move for New Jersey and it will strengthen our economy."

Murphy forked over $20 at Monmouth Park racetrack on June 14 on a bet that Germany would win the international football/soccer competition.

It seemed like a pretty safe wager. Germany was the defending World Cup champion.

But today, Germany, which hadn’t been eliminated in the first round since 1938, ended up last in its group after losing to South Korea.

And just like that, Murphy was out $20.

Maybe the governor's other, more local wagers — another $20 each on the New Jersey Devils to win the 2019 Stanley Cup and NASCAR champ and former Garden State auto racer Martin Truex, Jr., to take the green flag at the 2019 Daytona 500 — will pay off next year.

Taxes on winning wagers: If you're more of a bettor than Murphy, you're in luck tax-wise at least. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doesn't change the tax treatment of wagering.

The money you make on any and all bets, even the illegal ones if your state hasn't yet made sports betting available, is taxable income.

And if you're like Murphy and have some bad bets, hold onto to those slips and keep a record of all your gambling activities.

You still can claim losing amounts as an itemized deduction on Schedule A to offset your gambling winnings, as detailed in my earlier post on the lucky Texas woman whose Kentucky Derby bet paid off handsomely.

You also might find these items of interest:

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Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 03:18 PM in Gambling, Law, Sports, State/Local, Taxes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: gambling, Germany, New Jersey, South Korea, sports betting, state gambling, Supreme Court, tax, taxes, World Cup

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Missed Tax Day? Do this now — Some folks didn't file their federal taxes on April 15 (or 17) April 15 (or 17). If you're among those who missed the deadline and also neglected to get an extension, you need to make these four tax moves ASAP. (April 17, 2019)
Check out all the latest post-Tax Day tax advice in the 2019 edition of Weekly Tax Tips. Many of these once-a-week tips will focus on planning moves to cut your 2020 tax bill. If, however, you're working on a filing extension for your 2018 return, you can get a refresher of the 2019 Filing Season Tax Tips at their respective monthly pages: January, February, March and April.

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Tax Season 2019 continues!
Are you among the almost 15 million taxpayers the IRS estimates are now on extension to file their 2018 tax returns? That new Oct. 15 tax filing deadline will be here before you know it. The countdown clock below will help you track the days until that absolutely final filing due date arrives. Maybe in the next six months, we'll have a better handle on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changes!
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Time for Tax Tasks

April 1: No fooling, U.S. taxpayers.
Tax Day is just 14 days away.

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April obviously is Uncle Sam's favorite month because it's when he gets millions more tax returns, most of which are filed by folks who owe.

But the first day of this big tax month also is the deadline for older retirement plan owners. Some face an April 1 deadline to make their first required minimum distribution, or RMD.

Now back to the rest of us, who have a couple more April weeks to get to work on our last-minute filings. If you're part of the procrastinating contingent, then check out these April tax moves. They might be able to help you cut any tax you owe or add to your refund.

April 5: Looking for tax help? This late in the filing season it might be tough to find a tax pro willing to take on new clients. But you still might be able to get some free face-to-face tax help if you qualify for programs such as Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE).

April 7: If you're doing your taxes on your own, make sure you understand out the new tax law affects some previously common tax breaks.

April 10: Yes, Tax Day is just around the corner, but you still have to take care of other tax tasks. If your job includes tips and you received $20 in gratuities in March, use Form 4070 to report them today to your employer.

April 15: OK. This is it! Tax Day 2019.

For most of us, that is. Folks in Maine and Massachusetts get until April 17 due to the celebration of Patriots Day in those states.

You've got until midnight tonight (your local time) to electronically file your 1040. If you qualify, the IRS-tax software industry partnership known as Free File is waiting for you. This IRS/tax software industry partnership is in its 17th year of providing eligible taxpayers the opportunity to prepare and e-file their taxes, as the name says, at no cost.

This year, qualifying taxpayers — that's those with income of $66,000 or less — can use one of the expected dozen or so special commercial tax software programs at IRS.gov's Free File online page. Even if you make too much to use the online software, you can file using Free File's fillable forms.

If you discover that, even with the Free File help, you just can't complete all the necessary tax paperwork, make sure you file Form 4868 to get an automatic six-month extension. Just be sure to pay any tax you owe. The extension only gets your more time file your forms, not extra time to pay your tax bill.

Remember, too, that April 15 also is the deadline for several other tax tasks. They include:

Making your first 2019 tax year estimated tax payment. There's no extension allowed here.

Contributing to contributing to an IRA. Putting money into a traditional IRA by today also could give you an immediate tax deduction on your current return.

You also can contribute to a Roth IRA and have it count toward the prior tax year. While a Roth isn't deductible, when you max out your annual contribution amounts you'll have a bigger retirement nest egg. Plus, your contributions to either retirement account could help you qualify for the Saver's Credit.

And if you didn't file a 2015 tax return back in 2016 and were due a refund three years ago, file that old 1040 by today or kiss your unclaimed refund money goodbye.

April 19: Whew! Now that filing is done (except for us procrastinators on extension) and you've had a few days to get settled, it's time to take care of your tax records. You need to hang onto some filing paperwork just in case the IRS has follow-up questions.

April 24: If you got or are expecting a big refund or ended up owing Uncle Sam a lot when you filed your return, now's the time for a paycheck checkup and possibly adjust your payroll withholding, especially since we're now dealing with new tax laws.

April 30: And about those tax law changes…. Now that you've seen what they meant to your 2018 tax return, start now to make the most of them — and pay less taxes — in 2019. In addition to continuing to read Don't Mess With Taxes, you also might want to consider hiring a tax professional who will work with you year round.

Small Business Tax Calendar: Speaking of business taxes, you'll find important filing, deposit and record keeping dates throughout the year that your company needs to know in the IRS' tax calendar for small businesses and the self-employed. You also can get more tax calendar information in IRS Pub. 509.

State Tax Help

Don't forget your state taxes!
Forty-three states and D.C. collect personal income taxes. But even if you live in of the seven states without an income levy, you still face other state (and local) taxes.

State Tax Departments provides links to your state's Web page. The companion page, Tax Tidbits, is the compilation of blurbs about each state's tax laws. And for more state tax news, check out all our state tax bloggings.

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April 2019

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Weekly Tax Tip

Missed Tax Day? Do this now — Some folks didn't file their federal taxes on April 15 (or 17) April 15 (or 17). If you're among those who missed the deadline and also neglected to get an extension, you need to make these four tax moves ASAP. (April 17, 2019)
Check out all the latest post-Tax Day tax advice in the 2019 edition of Weekly Tax Tips. Many of these once-a-week tips will focus on planning moves to cut your 2020 tax bill. If, however, you're working on a filing extension for your 2018 return, you can get a refresher of the 2019 Filing Season Tax Tips at their respective monthly pages: January, February, March and April.

Don't Mess With Taxes

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