How to Report $6k in Fantasy Sports Winnings When No 1099s Were Issued

You're doing the right thing by wanting to report this income properly. Fantasy sports winnings are indeed taxable, even when the platforms don't issue 1099s. You should report the $6,000 as "Other Income" on Schedule 1, Line 8z. There's a field to describe the income, so you can write "Fantasy Sports Winnings" there. The IRS doesn't necessarily need a breakdown by platform, but keeping those records for yourself is smart in case of questions later. As for the entry fees, yes you can deduct those! Gambling losses (which include fantasy sports entry fees) can be deducted as an itemized deduction on Schedule A, but only up to the amount of your gambling winnings. So in your case, you could deduct up to $2,500 of your entry fees as gambling losses. Keep in mind you'll need to itemize to claim this deduction, so it only makes sense if your total itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction. One more thing - keep detailed records of your winnings and entry fees. Without 1099s, having your own documentation becomes extra important.

I was in a very similar situation last year with about $7,200 in fantasy football winnings across DraftKings and FanDuel with no 1099s. I spent hours trying to figure out how to report it all correctly and was getting nowhere until I found https://taxr.ai and it seriously saved me so much time. I just uploaded screenshots of my yearly summaries from the platforms and it organized everything perfectly - showed me exactly where to report the income, how to document my entry fees, and even explained why I didn't get 1099s (platforms only send them when you win over a certain threshold on a single platform). The tool even created a documentation file I could keep with my tax records in case of an audit. I was nervous about reporting gambling income without official forms, but after using taxr.ai I felt 100% confident in my filing. Definitely worth checking out for your situation!

Alright so I need to apologize to Profile 9. I was skeptical about taxr.ai but decided to try it anyway since I'm in basically the same situation ($5800 in winnings across 3 platforms). It's actually legit. I uploaded my screenshots from my accounts and it walked me through everything step by step. It explained exactly where to report the income and my entry fees, and even created a special documentation file that explains why I didn't receive any 1099s in case I get questioned later. The best part was it showed me how to properly document my entry fees so I could potentially deduct them. Turns out I had over $3k in other deductions that I wasn't even aware of, so with the fantasy sports entry fees added, I'll actually benefit from itemizing instead of taking the standard deduction. Sorry for being a doubter. This actually saved me a ton of stress and probably some money too.

Just another perspective - I've been reporting fantasy winnings for years and always had issues getting through to the IRS when I had questions. Last time I needed clarification on reporting winnings without 1099s, I spent literally 3 days trying to get through on the phone. I found this service called https://claimyr.com that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in less than 15 minutes. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c but basically it navigates the IRS phone system for you and calls you back when it gets an agent. The IRS agent confirmed that reporting on Line 8z as "Other Income" was correct and gave me specific guidance on documenting entry fees. After years of tax filing frustration, it was amazing to actually talk to someone who could give me definitive answers about fantasy sports reporting requirements.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After another failed attempt to reach the IRS myself (2+ hours on hold before getting disconnected), I decided to try it even though I was super skeptical. Holy crap it actually works. I got connected to an IRS agent in about 22 minutes. The agent confirmed that fantasy sports winnings without 1099s should be reported as Other Income on Schedule 1, and that entry fees can be deducted on Schedule A as gambling losses up to the amount of winnings. The agent also mentioned something important - even without 1099s, the fantasy platforms DO report aggregate payment information to the IRS, so they might know about your winnings even if you didn't get a form. That made me extra glad I was planning to report the income properly. So yeah, I was wrong. For anyone else struggling with fantasy sports tax questions and needing to speak with the IRS directly, this service is legitimate.

Something nobody mentioned yet - make sure you also check your state's tax rules for gambling/fantasy winnings. Some states have different thresholds and requirements than federal. For example, in my state, I have to submit a separate form specifically for gambling income if it exceeds $1,000, even if I didn't receive any official tax documents.

Just as a heads up - the fantasy platforms typically only issue 1099s when you win over $600 FROM A SINGLE PLATFORM. So if you won $1,500 from each of 4 different sites, you might not get any 1099s even though your total is $6,000. The $600 threshold is per-platform, not in total across all platforms. But as others said, you still need to report it all!