Who must file Form W-2G
File Form W-2G for each person to whom you pay reportable gambling winnings, or from whom you withhold federal income tax on winnings under regular gambling withholding or backup withholding. The reporting threshold depends on the game. For calendar year 2026, P.L. 119-21 raised the bingo and slot machine threshold from $1,200 to $2,000, and the keno and general "other wagers at 300 times the wager" thresholds to the same $2,000, indexed for inflation from 2027; poker tournament winnings remain reportable at $5,000 net of the buy-in. Check the IRS inflation-adjustment page each year for the current figures.
Two withholding regimes apply. Regular gambling withholding at 24% is required on winnings over $5,000 (net of the wager) from sweepstakes, wagering pools, lotteries, and parimutuel or sports wagers paying at least 300 to 1. Backup withholding at 24% applies to reportable winnings not subject to regular withholding (slots, bingo, keno, poker) when the winner does not furnish a TIN. They never stack.
Threshold: $2,000, generally $2,000 or more for 2026 (slots, bingo, keno net of wager, and other wagers where winnings are at least 300 times the wager); poker tournaments $5,000 net of buy-in; regular withholding at $5,000 for sweepstakes, lotteries and 300-to-1 wagers.
What is reported, box by box
| Box | What it reports | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reportable winnings | At or above the threshold for the game; the optional aggregate method may be used for same-day slot, bingo and keno sessions. |
| 2 | Date won | |
| 3 | Type of wager | |
| 4 | Federal income tax withheld | Regular or backup withholding; Form 945. |
| 5 | Transaction | |
| 6 | Race | |
| 7 | Winnings from identical wagers | |
| 8 | Cashier | |
| 9 | Winner's TIN | Required, in full; a W-2G may not carry a truncated TIN. |
| 10 | Window | |
| 11 and 12 | First and second identification | Two forms of ID, one with a photo; a signed W-9 serves as the non-photo ID. |
| 13 to 18 | State and local information | Convenience boxes. |
Box titles follow the current revision of the form. The IRS reads the payer and recipient name, TIN, address, account number and the money boxes; the state boxes are for the state copy only.
Payments that are not reported on Form W-2G
- Winnings under the threshold for the game, or under 300 times the wager where that test applies.
- Winnings of a nonresident alien, reported on Form 1042-S with 30% withholding (with exceptions for blackjack, baccarat, craps, roulette and big-6 wheel).
- State-conducted lottery payees are exempt from the two-ID rule but not from reporting.
Due dates and extensions
| Copy | Due | For 2026 returns |
|---|---|---|
| To the IRS, paper | February 28 | Monday, March 1, 2027 (February 28 is a Sunday) |
| To the IRS, electronic | March 31 | Wednesday, March 31, 2027 |
| To the recipient | January 31 | Monday, February 1, 2027 (January 31 is a Sunday) |
An automatic 30-day extension is available on Form 8809, filed by the due date on paper or through IRIS; a second 30 days requires a hardship showing. Recipient statements can be extended 30 days on Form 15397, online or by fax only. 10 or more information returns of any type in aggregate must be e-filed (T.D. 9972); IRIS is the only IRS intake system from filing season 2027, FIRE having been retired. A payer who e-files the originals must e-file the corrections.
For 2026 forms filed in 2027: January 31 falls on a Sunday, so that deadline moves to Monday, February 1, 2027; February 28 also falls on a Sunday, so the paper deadline moves to Monday, March 1, 2027. March 31 (electronic) and March 15 are weekdays. February 28 does not become February 29 in a leap year. The compliance calendar has every date with the weekend shifts applied.
Backup withholding and TIN matching
Backup withholding on Form W-2G is the rule that makes the cage collect a TIN before paying a jackpot: winnings that meet the threshold but are not subject to regular gambling withholding are withheld on at 24% (reduced, at the payer's option, by the wager) whenever the winner does not furnish a TIN. If regular withholding already applies, backup withholding does not. Both go in box 4 and on Form 945. W-2G is not in the IRS TIN Matching program; casinos verify at the cage with photo ID and a signed W-9 or the W-2G itself, and many run a real-time name/TIN check through a third-party service before payout. See the gaming and casinos page.
Name and TIN errors on this form
Every information return is matched by the IRS on the first four characters of the payee's name (the name control) against the TIN. A mismatch produces a CP2100 line the following autumn and, unless the solicitation record is in order, a 972CG penalty the year after: $340 per return for 2026 forms filed in 2027 that are late or wrong, $690 for intentional disregard, with annual maximums of $4,191,500 ($1,397,000 for small filers) under Rev. Proc. 2025-32. The errors that recur on Form W-2G:
- Name as on the ID. The W-2G name should be the legal name on the identification, which is also what the SSA holds; a players-club nickname is a mismatch.
- Group winners. One person presents the ticket; Form 5754 splits the winnings among the group and each member gets a W-2G under their own SSN.
- ITIN holders. Foreign visitors with an ITIN are often still nonresident aliens reportable on 1042-S; residency, not the TIN type, decides the form.
- No truncation. Unlike other 1099s, the payee copy of W-2G must show the full TIN.
The name control calculator shows what the IRS will derive from a name line, and the CP2100 guide covers what to do when the notice arrives.
Recipient statements and substitutes
The recipient statement for Form W-2G need not be a copy of the official form: a substitute may be combined with other account statements or reports, provided every required item is numbered and titled as on the official form, the tax year, form number and form name appear together, the recipient instructions are included, and, for the forms Pub 1099 lists, a telephone number with direct access to someone who can answer questions is shown. Publication 1179 (Rev. Proc. 2026-18) has the specifications; logos, slogans and advertising are not permitted on the statement itself. Statements may be furnished electronically only to a recipient who has affirmatively consented in a way that shows they can access the format, after the disclosures in Pub 1099 part M, and must stay posted through October 15. Copy B may show a truncated TIN (xxx-xx-1234); the IRS copy never may (and Form W-2G may not be truncated at all).
Corrections and state copies
A wrong amount, code or checkbox is a Type 1 correction: one corrected return with the CORRECTED box checked. A wrong or missing payee TIN, a wrong payee name, or the wrong form type is a Type 2 correction: a zeroed-out copy of the original plus a new original, in that order. Publication 1099 also says you are not required to file a correction for a missing or incorrect TIN if you meet the reasonable-cause standard, only to use the right TIN on the next return, although the IRS encourages the correction. Details and the paper error charts are on the 1099 corrections page.
Form W-2G is not in the Combined Federal/State Filing program, so any state that requires it must receive it directly. Requirements by state are on the state pages.
Questions people ask about Form W-2G
Did the slot jackpot threshold really change?
Yes. P.L. 119-21 raised the bingo and slot threshold from $1,200 to $2,000 for winnings paid after December 31, 2025, indexed from 2027. The IRS confirmed the amount in the December 2025 draft of the 2026 form.
What about poker tournaments?
$5,000 net of the buy-in remains the reporting threshold under Rev. Proc. 2007-57; it was not changed by the 2025 law.
Does a winner who refuses a TIN still get paid?
Yes, net of 24% backup withholding, with the W-2G reporting both the winnings and the tax.
Can W-2G go through the Combined Federal/State program?
No. States that tax gambling winnings require direct filing.
Other federal forms
1042-S · 1097-BTC · 1098 · 1098-C · 1098-E · 1098-F · 1098-Q · 1098-T · 1098-VLI · 1099-A · 1099-B · 1099-C · 1099-CAP · 1099-DIV · 1099-G · 1099-INT · 1099-K · 1099-LS · 1099-LTC · 1099-MISC · 1099-NEC · 1099-OID · 1099-PATR · 1099-Q · 1099-QA · 1099-R · 1099-S · 1099-SA · 1099-SB · 3921 · 3922 · 5498 · 5498-ESA · 5498-SA · 1099-DA · Comparison table
Sources: IRS Publication 1099 (2026), General Instructions for Certain Information Returns, which replaced the separate General Instructions starting with tax year 2026; Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 (Rev. January 2026); Pub 1099 (2026) Guide to Information Returns and part N; IRC 6041, 3402(q), 3406; P.L. 119-21. Threshold amounts are indexed for inflation from calendar year 2027; check IRS.gov/InflationAdjustment for the current year.