GOP Tax Proposal Targets Professional Gamblers’ Losing Years

The Joint Committee on Taxation released its new tax proposal, H.R. 1, today. Buried within it is Section 1305:

SEC. 1305. LIMITATION ON WAGERING LOSSES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 165(d) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term ‘losses from wagering transactions’ includes any deduction otherwise allowable under this chapter incurred in carrying on any wagering trans action.’’.

So what does this mean? The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) sent out an analysis:

Sec. 1305. Limitation on wagering losses.

Current law: Under current law, a taxpayer may claim an itemized deduction for losses from gambling, but only to the extent of gambling winnings. However, taxpayers may claim other deductions connected to gambling that are deductible regardless of gambling winnings.

Provision: Under the provision, all deductions for expenses incurred in carrying out wagering transactions (not just gambling losses) would be limited to the extent of wagering winnings. The provision would be effective for tax years beginning after 2017.

JCT estimate: According to JCT, the provision would increase revenues by $0.1 billion over 2018-2027.

The JCT analysis is wrong about the current law. Only professional gamblers can take business expenses beyond their gambling winnings to create an overall loss. This is the result of Mayo v Commissioner; Section 1305 would overrule the Mayo decision.

I will have more on this proposal, most likely over the weekend. There’s quite a bit for me to digest. For now, let me state that my first reading of the measure did not leave me feeling good about it.

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