02/26/2026
🎲 Important Tax Update for Gamblers (2026 & Beyond) 📄
Heads-up to everyone who gambles — whether you enjoy the lottery, casino games, sports betting, or poker — there’s a significant change in how you deduct gambling losses on your federal tax return starting with the 2026 tax year (returns filed in 2027).
➡️ What’s changing?
Under current law, you used to be able to deduct 100% of your gambling losses (up to the amount of your winnings) when you itemized deductions. That meant if you won $10,000 and lost $10,000 in the same year, you could offset your income so you owed no tax on your gambling activity.
Starting January 1, 2026, a new federal tax provision limits this deduction: you can now only deduct up to 90% of your gambling losses, and only up to the amount of your winnings. That means:
🎯 If you win $10,000 in a year but also lose $10,000 — even though you broke even — you’ll now owe tax on $1,000 of “phantom” income because only $9,000 of your losses are deductible.
➡️ What this means for you:
✅ You still have to report all gambling winnings as taxable income.
✅ To claim any loss deduction, you must itemize deductions on Schedule A — if you take the standard deduction, you can’t deduct gambling losses at all.
❌ Even if you break even or lose money overall, you may owe federal taxes on a portion of your reported winnings starting with 2026.
📌 This change was part of broader tax legislation passed in 2025, and there are ongoing efforts in Congress to reverse it, but as of now it’s the law that applies for the 2026 tax year.
If you gamble and plan to itemize, it’s a good idea to keep detailed records of all wins and losses and check with a tax professional so you’re prepared when filing next year. 📊