FTR TAX TIP OF THE MONTH
So, you won money gambling in 2019. Are you going to report all of your winnings on your tax return even if you didn’t receive a Form W-2G from the casino? The IRS requires all gambling winnings to be included in your taxable income on your tax return, but most people take the “easy” route and only report gambling winnings on the Form W-2G. If you’re going to do that, at least make sure your W-2G winnings are reported correctly! To do that, you have a few possible options. If you’ve received this form in prior years, you’re probably already familiar with the IRS rule that says you can deduct gambling losses up to the amount of your winnings on your Schedule A if — and this is a big IF — you can itemize. However, with the new standard deductions that went into effect for 2018, many people are not able to itemize, which means no deduction for gambling losses. The standard deductions for 2019 are $24,400 for married filing jointly, $18,350 for head of household, and $12,200 for single or married filing separately. All of those deductions rise if you’re 65 or older, or blind. If you can’t itemize to deduct your gambling losses, don’t despair — you’re still eligible to net your winnings for a “gambling session.” According to IRS rules, a taxpayer can subtract their losses from their winnings for each gambling session, which is defined as the time you spent at a particular casino on a particular day. For example, say you won $2,000 playing the slots in one day, but you actually spent $1,000 that day to win the $2,000. You can report $1,000 on your tax return as your net winnings. Of course, this net will not match your W-2G amount reported to the IRS, so you must include documentation with your tax return explaining how you arrived at the net winnings. If you have a casino players club membership, it should be easy to get a report from the casino to prove your wins and losses for a specific day. Many tax preparers don’t utilize the gambling session deduction for their clients if they aren’t able to itemize, but my goal is always to save you money on your taxes. If you have any questions about the gambling session deduction, give me a call at 262-752-6992. TAKE THE TIME TO REPORT YOUR GAMBLING WINNINGS CORRECTLY!
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN SAUERKRAUT
Cabbage is in season right now, which means it’s the perfect time to try your hand at making sauerkraut. The fermented cabbage requires only two ingredients, keeps for months, and is packed with beneficial probiotics.
INGREDIENTS
EQUIPMENT
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2 lbs cabbage
• • •
Jar
4 tsp fine sea salt
Lid with airlock
Something to weigh down cabbage, ideally made of a nonreactive material like glass
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350 F. 2. Grease a loaf pan with canola oil.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together 1/2 cup canola oil, molasses, brown sugar, eggs, ginger, and cranberries. In a separate bowl, sift and combine flour with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until blended. 4. Scrape batter into loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes. 5. Transfer to a rack, let cool for 20 minutes, slice, and serve.
Inspired by NourishedKitchen.com
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