Ask the Slot Expert: Phony jackpots?

I started 2026 off with a bang. I hit a Royal Flush on 1/3.

When the slot attendant came, she looked at my screen and said, "Oh, this is a real jackpot."

"There are phony jackpots?" I asked.

"Yeah. We don't have to give tax forms for jackpots under $2000 now," she said.

I had heard that the threshold might be changed. Jean Scott posted a link to the December 16, 2025 blog post by Russ Fox, the tax expert who co-wrote her book on taxes. In this post, he referred to his July 15,2025 blog post in July in which he addressed the question of whether the bill formally known as "An act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14" raises the W-2G threshold on slot wins. He wrote that the act contains language changing the threshold for backup withholding to $2000, but that has nothing to do with the threshold for issuing W-2Gs. That requirement is addressed in another section of the tax code and the threshold is still $1200.

He listed three possible scenarios:

1. My bad. Congress meant for both thresholds to increase and could bring the two thresholds in line with a technical corrections bill.
2. Tough toenails. Congress intended for the thresholds to be different.
3. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The IRS could interpret the change to mean that the W-2G threshold should be increased too.

Referring to the third possibility, he wrote, "That would be welcome by almost everyone but I would not hold my breath waiting for that interpretation."

In the December blog post, he wrote that the IRS indeed did interpret the bill to have intended to raise the W-2G threshold too and included this sentence found in the draft instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754:

The minimum threshold amount for payments made in calendar year 2026 is $2,000.

The cover sheet in the PDF says that the form could change and that a new draft would be released. The final version, though, would always be the same as the last draft. The IRS could retain the old $1200 threshold in a later draft.

Well, that horse has sailed. Casinos are no longer giving out W-2Gs for slot wins under $2000.

Note that your mileage may vary. States may (probably will) align their thresholds with the federal threshold or they may not.

I'm surprised that the sentence before the one giving the new threshold has not gotten more attention.

For calendar years after 2025, the minimum threshold amount for reporting certain payments and backup withholding on certain information returns, including the Form W-2G, will be adjusted yearly for inflation.

If the Fed is able to achieve its goal of 2% inflation, the threshold for 2027 will be $2040. If that inflation rate continues, a $4000 dollar Royal Flush will not require a W-2G until 2062.

Update: The final W-2G instructions are online now and the threshold was raised and indexed for inflation.

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Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert™, at slotexpert@slotexpert.com. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question.

Copyright © John Robison. Slot Expert and Ask the Slot Expert are trademarks of John Robison.