How to report gambling wins without W-2G forms for sports betting?

You don't actually need W-2G forms to report gambling winnings. The IRS requires you to report ALL gambling income regardless of whether you received a form. For your situation, you'll want to report the total winnings as "Other Income" on Schedule 1, Line 8z, and write "Gambling Winnings" next to it. For your sports betting activity, you should keep detailed records of all your wagers, winnings, and losses. Even without W-2Gs, you're responsible for tracking and reporting accurately. Most tax software has a section for gambling income where you can enter this manually without needing the actual W-2G info. Regarding those promotional bonuses - they're generally considered gambling winnings when you cash them out. So for your FanDuel example, the $200 bonus would be considered winnings when you actually withdraw it. The $120 you ended up with would be your proceeds, while your $20 deposit would be part of your wager/cost. If you itemize deductions (Schedule A), you can deduct gambling losses up to the amount of your winnings. Make sure you have documentation of both wins and losses if you go this route!

I had a similar situation last year and found taxr.ai super helpful for organizing all my gambling stuff. Basically I was juggling like 6 different betting apps with no W-2Gs and completely lost track of what I won vs. lost. I took screenshots of my account histories and uploaded them to https://taxr.ai and it analyzed everything and gave me the exact totals I needed to report. Saved me hours of going through each transaction manually. It also handled those weird signup bonuses correctly - something I was totally confused about. The system understood that the "free money" bonuses should only count as income once they become withdrawable. I just answered a few questions about each platform's bonus terms and it sorted everything out.

I just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai for my sports betting tax situation. I was really skeptical at first (as you can see from my comment above), but it actually worked amazingly well. I uploaded screenshots from my FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars accounts, and it accurately extracted all my transactions. What surprised me most was how it handled those complicated signup bonuses. I had several "bet $50, get $200 in bonus bets" promos, and it correctly identified which portions were my actual deposits versus the bonus funds. It even factored in the playthrough requirements for each platform before counting anything as taxable. The final report broke everything down by platform, showing my total wagers, winnings, and net result. It saved me literally hours of spreadsheet work that I was dreading. For anyone in a similar situation with multiple betting accounts and no W-2Gs, it's definitely worth checking out.

For anyone struggling to get through to the IRS to ask about gambling reporting requirements, I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and actually got connected to a real person in about 15 minutes. I was on hold for HOURS before trying this. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I needed clarification on how to handle cryptocurrency gambling winnings along with my regular sports betting, and the IRS agent was super helpful once I actually got through. Apparently there are different rules depending on whether you're considered a professional gambler or not.

I need to eat my words from my comment above. After waiting on hold with the IRS for 2+ hours and getting disconnected AGAIN, I tried Claimyr out of desperation. Within 25 minutes, I got a call back and was connected to an actual IRS agent. The agent confirmed exactly what I needed to know about reporting my sports betting winnings without W-2Gs. He explained that I should keep records of all sessions (dates, locations, amounts won/lost) even without official forms, and that I can use bank statements and screenshots from betting apps as documentation. For anyone dealing with gambling tax questions - especially about those promotional bonuses - getting direct answers from the IRS was WAY more helpful than trying to piece together info from random websites. And being able to skip the ridiculous hold time made it actually possible to talk to someone before the filing deadline.

Just wanted to share what I ended up doing for my sports betting without W-2Gs. I created a spreadsheet tracking each platform separately: For each sportsbook, I listed: - Total amount deposited - Total amount withdrawn - All bonus funds received - Final account balance Then I calculated my actual gambling income as: (Total Withdrawn + Final Balance) - Total Deposited This gave me my net gambling income across all platforms. I reported this total on Schedule 1 as "Other Income" and wrote "Gambling Winnings" in the description. My tax software (TurboTax) didn't need the actual W-2G info when I entered it this way. Hope this helps someone else!

Does anyone know if the standard $600 reporting threshold for W-2Gs applies to each individual sportsbook or to your total gambling winnings for the year? I'm getting conflicting info online.

Thanks for sharing your situation - this is actually pretty common with sports betting since most platforms don't issue W-2Gs unless you hit their specific thresholds. You're absolutely right to report this income even without the forms. For your $1,250 in total winnings, you'll want to report this as "Other Income" on Schedule 1, Line 8z. Don't worry about not having the EINs or addresses from each sportsbook - the IRS doesn't require that level of detail when you're self-reporting gambling income. Regarding those signup bonuses, here's how to handle them: The $200 bonus from FanDuel isn't considered income when you receive it - it only becomes taxable when you convert it to withdrawable cash. So if you ended up with $120 after playing through the bonus requirements, your taxable gambling income from that transaction would be $100 ($120 withdrawn minus your $20 deposit). Make sure to keep detailed records of all your transactions - screenshots from each platform, bank statements showing deposits/withdrawals, and any email summaries the platforms sent you. This documentation will be crucial if you ever need to verify your reported amounts. One last tip: if you had any losses during the year, you can deduct them up to the amount of your winnings if you itemize deductions on Schedule A. Just make sure you have documentation for those losses too!

I went through this exact same situation last year with multiple sportsbooks and no W-2Gs. Here's what I learned after consulting with a tax professional: You're absolutely correct that you need to report all gambling income regardless of whether you received forms. For your $1,250 in winnings, report it as "Other Income" on Schedule 1, Line 8z with "Gambling Winnings" as the description. For those promotional bonuses, the key is understanding when they become taxable income. The bonus itself isn't income when credited to your account - it only becomes taxable when you successfully convert it to withdrawable cash. So in your FanDuel example, if you deposited $20, got the $200 bonus, and ended up withdrawing $120, your taxable gambling income would be $100 ($120 withdrawn minus your $20 deposit). One thing I wish I'd known earlier: keep meticulous records even without W-2Gs. Download your transaction histories from each platform before the year ends, take screenshots of your account summaries, and save any monthly/annual statements they email you. These will be invaluable if you're ever audited. Also, don't forget that you can deduct gambling losses up to the amount of your winnings if you itemize deductions. Most platforms provide year-end summaries showing total losses, which the IRS accepts as documentation. The whole process is more straightforward than it initially seems - you just need to be thorough with your record-keeping!