I claimed to winning tickets for $1,000 each twice in a yr. for the same person. After the first one I called my tax place and inquired about taxes. She said that I probably wouldn't have to pay anything because amounts like that, it is assumed you have spent that much on losing tickets. I don't know if the 2nd 1,000 made the difference or not but I am now being taxed on them both and owe 360. Can this amount be legally transferred to the rightful owner of the winnings? possibly signing something or getting something noterized?
2006-08-19 04:53:29 · 5 answers · asked by Ava 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
No, the claimant is the winner. Lottery tickets are bearer instruments and it clearly states so on the back of the ticket. Whoever has the ticket in their hand is the legal owner as far as the lottery is concerned.
Your "tax place" gave you bad advice. Get another tax advisor; they're IDIOTS! To offset gambling winnings with gambling losses you must itemize deductions and have proof of the amount of your losses, i.e. the losing lottery tickets. If your itemized deductions -- including the gambling deductions -- don't exceed the standard deduction, you get NO deduction for gambling losses. The government does NOT "assume" that you have matching losses and allow you to slide! As I said, your tax advisor is an IDIOT.
Your only option at this point is to pay the taxes. Quickly because penalties and interest will be added for every day that you delay.
You might want to ask the person that you handed the winnings over to to cover that, but they are under no legal obligation to do so. When you claimed the winning tickets, you stated that you were the owner of the ticket and agreed to pay any taxes due on the winnings.
2006-08-19 05:10:53 · answer #1 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Probably not. The person who asked you to claim for them apparently knew about the potential tax liability and suckered you into taking the hit. After the tax is paid, it's not a big deal anymore, so your best bet is to ask the person you did it for to pony up the $360. If they won't, report them to the IRS for fraud. They might go easy on you for turning them in even though you were an accomplice.
Your tax advisor is a moron and should have their license pulled. Anyone with half a brain in such a profession knows the max limit to unclaimed earnings is $600, but that has to do with the obligation for the payer to report having given it to you. Guaranteed the lottery reports EVERYTHING so it was really stupid advice.
Never take on anyone's deby OR windfall.
2006-08-19 17:32:00 · answer #2 · answered by misslabeled 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You probably realized at the time that the person for whom you claimed the tickets was avoiding taxes ... didn't it occur to you that you might be taxed as a result?
In any case, if you cashed the tickets for someone else, then the taxable income is theirs not yours. You can be taxed on whatever you were paid to perform this service. You will have to tell the IRS the name of the other person. If they believe you, they should let you off the hook.
However, they could -- if they wanted to -- accuse both of you of conspiring to evade taxes.
It would be a good idea to have a chat with a lawyer before taking action.
PS the fact that you swore the tickets were yours when you cashed them doesn't change the fact that they weren't, but it does give the IRS another thing to indict you for.
2006-08-19 15:15:12 · answer #3 · answered by TaxGuru 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You ARE the rightful owner of the winnings because you claimed them. You should have asked this question before claiming the money. Now your only recourse is to try and get money from the person that asked you to claim the winnings (so you could get stuck with the taxes) in the first place. You got screwed!
2006-08-19 12:02:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Unfortunately you are stuck with the tax liability on these winnings. If you gamble yourself you could try to come up with "gambling losses" which is what you spent yourself on losing bets, lottery tickets, etc.. but you would have to have some proof. Good Luck!
Mistakes are only bad if we don't learn from them. Never put anything in your name unless it's yours.
2006-08-19 16:29:22 · answer #5 · answered by lade40free 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋