I have a few casino cased apps on Android. Recently I went to the casino and spent quite a bit of money playing various slot machines for research purposes. I wasn't playing to win/lose I was playing to figure out what I need to place in my apps to make them feel more realistic like sound effects lighting etc etc. I was just curious if this would be considered a tax write off or not? I did gamble with the intent that uncle Sam will pay for it, and I could care less if the answer is no. I'm just curious if this would be considered a business expense or if it's seen as entertainment.
Since you say you don't care much, I would say that it won't fly with the IRS during an audit. That's of course, if there's an audit. If you do care, my question would be, how much is "quite a bit of money?" More than the total sales of your apps? Do you itemize deductions? Did you incur expenses before the launch of the apps? Read the following: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p535/ch07.html
What I meant by I don't care is...I was going to go either way whether it was a tax write off or not. So if isn't a write off I won't be too upset. Quite a bit of money on research was roughly 1,000$. The app makes that much every other day. I do itemize deductions. I incurred some expenses before launching the app like purchasing testing devices, graphics etc etc.
Did you lose every penny you put in? If you did, then it is of the ability to be written off as market research. IF you won on any spin, this is something that should be declared because that is considered profit and should be taxed. The problem is, winning on no spins, winning on 5 or winning on all is impossible to prove unless you kept records. You want to do something even better, if the money was invoiced out in any other name with a labelled expense as "researcher" then no one will ask the question, the receipt needed will the invoice to the "researcher" then it will be fully allowed to be your tax write off.
If you lost the money, then I would say there is a clear argument that you spent the money for the sake of building our app, which is a write off imo.
You can spin the words as cleverly as you wish...its like me going on a business trip, and trying to write-off a hooker as entertainment expense. (it has been tried, and declined by the IRS) and how are you going to present the IRS with receipts? Its not like gambling machines spit out a receipt every time you spin the wheel.... better yet, call the IRS and ask....
It really depends. I've seen alot of machines here that will print you out a receipt that shows your play duration, money you put in and if you won anything (that you need to go pick up at the collection desk) along with the amount won and the code the machine prints on the ticket to verify the amounts. Though I doubt this is the same throughout the world. If you have any doubts take it to a income tax office to get a second opinion.
i think you might have a chance as expense especially if you file taxes on the apps like the income u make all you really got to do is talk to your tax guy but instead of telling him you were gambling just say its for business purpose
Sounds like piss weak reasoning imho. Why can't you play free slots online you're getting the same gaming experience.