The American Gaming Association is calling on the Treasury Department and IRS to increase the cap on the amount of money a patron could win at a casino slot machine before reporting the income to the IRS.
The GOP’s recently enacted tax-and-spending law raised the threshold from $1,200 for filing federal tax information on slot winnings to $2,000, but the group is seeking an even higher threshold.
A 1977 regulation set the $1,200 threshold, which causes slot machines to shut down once a player wins $1,200 so a casino employee can issue them a tax form, according to the industry group’s July 31 letter to Treasury. The GOP’s law increases that cap to $2,000 for all business transactions under Section 6041. But the gaming group argues that slot machines should get an even higher cap, since their original $1,200 carveout would be over $6,600 today adjusted for inflation.
- The IRS Advisory Council has previously recommended that the reporting cap for slot machines be raised to $5,000.
- The letter comes as the gaming industry finds itself in a high-profile spat with lawmakers over a different section of the new tax law, which could tax gamblers even if they break even or lose money.
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