For a player receiving several qualifying gambling payouts, one information return need not mean one undifferentiated total. The IRS final rule published December 30, 2016 permits optional aggregation of reportable payments from the same game type to the same person within a reporting period. This December 31 account concerns that Friday action, not a new weekend announcement. [2016-31575]

The payer must retain a separate record entry for each payment included, with the recipient's signature confirming the information and the responsible individual's confirmation. Aggregation therefore changes how qualifying payments appear on the return without making the underlying entries disappear. Payments subject to backup withholding, payments to foreign persons and specified cases involving another beneficiary cannot use this method. [2016-31575]

That is different from the March 2015 proposal for electronically tracked slot play. A gaming-establishment-controlled system would record a person's wins and wagers; the proposed reporting test required both net session winnings of at least $1,200 and one gross win of at least $1,200. The final rule did not adopt that scheme. Its optional aggregation is not permission to subtract every loss from every win. [2016-31575][2015-04437]

The distinction matters when reading a form: reportable winnings are not a complete calculation of a player's tax liability. The final rule was effective December 30, while its payor-selected reporting-period provisions apply to covered payments from January 1, 2017; other provisions apply from December 30. These sources trace one IRS rulemaking, not independent evidence that players' paperwork or costs actually declined. [2016-31575][2015-04437]

Source documents

  1. Information Returns; Winnings From Bingo, Keno, and Slot Machineshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-12-30/html/2016-31575.htm
  2. Information Returns; Winnings From Bingo, Keno, and Slot Machineshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-03-04/html/2015-04437.htm