By Joseph Burwick
Buffalo, NY – With people's perception of the weather here, many people might think I was crazy to tell you that thousands of people are paying to get into pools in Buffalo in March and April! Well, I'm not crazy, just simply thinking of a different kind of "pool." As you might already know, Buffalo proudly hosted the first and second round games of the NCAA tournament, beginning March 19th with four sold-out games in HSBC Arena.
The games brought fans from miles around to cheer on their teams, enjoy our city, our food and welcoming, friendly people, and revel in one of an American sports fan's favorite pastimes college basketball. Like most other towns in America during this exciting time in the sports year, Buffalo is also home to office pools and "bracketologists" sharing their depth of knowledge with friends and co-workers, predicting who may take the final prize and be crowned NCAA college basketball Division I champion.
If you are one of the fortunate winners of one of these "pools" (based on your skills and research efforts, of course), the only person more excited than you is Uncle Sam? Did you know that taxable income on your personal tax return includes all gambling winnings? You may be able to offset some of this income as gambling losses are deductible to the extent of gambling winnings, but there is a catch. They must be reported as an itemized deduction on Schedule A (not subject to the 2% floor). To all of you non-CPAs or non-financial gurus out there, this means that you may not be able to claim these losses unless you have other itemized deductions like real estate taxes or home mortgage interest for instance. To complicate this further, adequate documentation is required to claim such losses.
You would need to provide:
1. The date and type of specific wager or wagering activity
2. The name and address or location of the gambling establishment
3. The names of other persons (if any) present with the taxpayer at the gambling establishment.
4. The amount won or lost
As you can see, if you aren't in the know, things can get complicated, and that's definitely why many CPAs and tax professionals are super busy right about now. March Madness is not only about the pride of college athletes and winning teams, the thrill of the game and the agony of defeat, but about the hours upon hours put in by hard working CPAs and tax professionals all across the country, working to get their client's tax return documents filed in time for the tax day deadline.
So, don't forget, swing into spring, the countdown is on, as tax payers have until Thursday, April 15th to file their return! And remember, while many sports fanatics are totally into the game, measuring and analyzing free throw statistics and shooting percentages, accountants like me across the country are working around the clock to help their clients file their returns by the deadline day.
When March Madness is over and a victor emerges from the Final Four, and April 15th has passed, there will be both cheers from sports fans and CPAs alike.
Joseph Burwick is tax manager for Freed, Maxick and Battaglia in Buffalo.
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