Using PokerTracker for Taxes...

[Talking Poker]

I just dug through the PT forums (tired of waiting for pshabi to do this for me), and found some interesting threads I will link to directly.

MOST of the threads are people requesting this exact feature, so:
A) it's not there yet
and
B) They are aware that people want it (Assuming they read their own forums).

Seems there is going to be a big difference in the numbers, depending on how a "session" is defined. Damn the IRS for their goofy outdated laws.

Some threads worth looking at...

1. This guy grossed 3k.... you know, 123k win and 120k loss:


That blew his gross income through the roof, moving him up quite in bit in the tax brackets. I still don't think this can be right, and need to look into it more.

2. A useful looking SQL query:


3. A perl script posts on 2+2 with some more discussion:


4. And of course, as per the IRS:


5. More discussion, including interpretation of the IRS's pain in the ass requirements:


What a freaking mess. The thing that gets me is I'll bet 90%+ of online players don't report ANYTHING.... and meanwhile, the guys who do try to be honest not only get screwed financially, but also have to deal with all this crap and potentially more headaches from the IRS.

[badblood44]

Have you sought any advice from a professional tax preparer? Quite honestly, I went to one years ago, and paid $150 for his help. He showed me things that have saved me more than that fee several times over.

This may be one of those instances.

I'm not suggesting you be totally dishonest, but why screw yourself over?

[Talking Poker]

I talked to my accountant about this a few times last year, and wasn't really happy with what he had to say (not so much his recommendations, but more so his lack of knowledge in the area). So I found a new accountant. She's vvery willing to figure out what's best and gave me some pretty solid advice. She thinks PT on top of the records I have now would make for excellent backup.

My own personal records are gold as far as all tourneys are concerned - MTT, SNG, and even HU. Now it's just a question of getting PT to do what I want it to do to take care of the cash games.

[SirFWALGMan]

If anyone needs some help making a query to do the math I have been in IT for over 13 years and have some skillz in Access (which is the DB they used to use), and Postgress. Also I could import the data into my own Access DB for reporting only.. I know all the data is there to slice up anyway you want. Just ask and we can work something out.

[Talking Poker]

If you want to whip something up and post it (along with instructions for how we can use it), I'm sure there are a number of people that would appreciate it.

Basically, what I'm looking for is something that will run through ALL of my cash game sessions (all games, all limits) and tally they up to figure out my net for every day of the year. Then, I want to add up all the positive days and all the negative days to come up with two separate numbers. And that's it.

[PShabi]

Yes. I would appreciate this very much. TP promises a hand job.

[SirFWALGMan]

Nice. I think TP should give me a Tourney Chip.. and I will even give him 10% of what I win, lol.

[Talking Poker]

So, any progress with this?

I need to come up with something somewhat soon-ish.

[SirFWALGMan]

I forgot. I will put something up tonight.

[Talking Poker]

Thanks - very looking forward to it.