(Las Vegas Review-Journal) As the amounts of slot machine jackpots grow and the casino industry expands across the United States, the low threshold for issuing an IRS Form W-2G is becoming a bigger problem for the industry.
It’s not a life-or-death issue, but it’s clearly an annoyance that shouldn’t be taking so much time to fix.
Whenever a casino player hits a jackpot of $1,200 or more on a slot machine, the casino is required to issue a Form W-2G to the player and report the amount to the Internal Revenue Service. That is considered taxable income and is expected to be noted on an individual’s Form 1040 when filing at tax time.
The $1,200 amount was established in 1977 and hasn’t been revisited since. Over the years, jackpots have gotten bigger, and more states have approved casinos…
The American Gaming Association and Nevada’s congressional delegation have taken note of the need to amend the policy.
Bill Miller, who had just become the new director of the Washington-based AGA, called on President Donald Trump to address the problem, tying it to the reopening of casinos after coronavirus closures.
“Last year, the AGA again encouraged the Department of Treasury to update the slot jackpot reporting threshold to a realistic level, in line with inflation, such as $5,000,” Miller wrote.
