Lost $50 on state online slots - do I need to report this? 800+ gambling transactions

You're overthinking this, which is understandable since tax rules around gambling can be confusing! Here's the simple version: gambling winnings are taxable income and need to be reported, while losses can only be deducted if you itemize deductions (rather than taking the standard deduction). In your case, since you had a net loss of $45 with no significant individual wins, you likely don't have any reporting requirements. The IRS generally requires casinos to issue a W-2G for slot machine winnings of $1,200 or more from a single spin. Since you didn't receive any W-2Gs, there's no specific gambling income you're required to report. The 800+ transactions are just the casino's internal record-keeping. You don't need to report each individual spin on your tax return. If you did have reportable winnings, you'd just report the total amount.

I had almost the exact same situation last year! I was freaking out about how to handle all these tiny transactions too until I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which literally saved me hours of stress. Their system analyzed my gambling statement in seconds and confirmed I had no reporting requirements since I had no W-2G forms and a net loss. What I really liked was they explained exactly how gambling transactions work for tax purposes and even showed me what would happen if I had won instead of lost. Apparently with slots, only significant individual wins of $1,200+ trigger tax reporting, not the cumulative small wins that you immediately lose anyway.

Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after checking it out. I was honestly pleasantly surprised. I uploaded my more complicated gambling statements (had a few bigger wins at poker alongside overall losses) and it actually gave me a clear breakdown of what needed reporting and what didn't. The tool showed me exactly where on my tax forms each piece needed to go, and calculated whether itemizing my losses was worth it compared to the standard deduction. In my case it wasn't, so I would have been wasting time trying to document all my sessions. Saved me from a major headache since I had originally been tracking every single session meticulously!

If you're really worried about this or get audited (super unlikely with small amounts like this), I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually speak with the IRS directly about this. I used them after waiting on hold with the IRS for literally 3 hours and getting disconnected twice. Their system got me a callback from an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent confirmed that for small gambling activities with no W-2Gs and overall losses, there's no need to report anything. They specifically said those 800+ transactions are just the casino's record-keeping and aren't something taxpayers need to worry about.

I need to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I was still desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about some gambling questions I had from casino trips last year, so I gave it a shot. Within 17 minutes (I timed it), I got a call back with an actual IRS agent on the line. She answered my questions about reporting requirements for table games and slots and confirmed I didn't need to report small gambling activities with no W-2Gs and overall losses. Would have spent hours trying to do this on my own. Definitely changed my perspective on how to deal with the IRS.

Just to add another perspective - I'm an avid slots player (both online and in casinos) and have been dealing with gambling on taxes for years. Here's what you should know: 1. Without a W-2G, the IRS has no real way of knowing about your gambling anyway 2. Technically ALL gambling winnings are taxable income, but practically speaking the IRS only cares about the stuff that generates forms 3. If you're really worried, keep a gambling log with dates, locations, and amounts 4. With just $45 lost, this is absolutely not worth worrying about Focus on the big stuff - W-2 income, major deductions, etc. This tiny gambling activity is not on anyone's radar.

Has anyone used TurboTax to report gambling? I won about $2000 on a slot machine last year (got a W-2G) but probably lost $3000 overall for the year. Not sure how to handle this.

I went through something similar last year and can share what I learned. The key thing to understand is that the IRS threshold for slot machine reporting is $1,200 or more from a single spin - not cumulative winnings. Since you never hit that threshold and received no W-2G forms, you have no reporting obligation. Those 800+ transactions are just the casino's way of tracking every individual bet you made. Think of it like your credit card statement showing every small purchase - it's record-keeping, not something you need to report to the IRS. The fact that you had a net loss of $45 with no significant individual wins means this is a non-issue for your taxes. You can safely ignore this on your TurboTax return and focus on your actual tax obligations. The gambling statement is there for your records, but it doesn't create any tax liability when you had no reportable winnings.