IRS Jackpot Threshold Could Soon Be Raised

For those who love them, slot machines are an escape. An escape from responsibilities, obligations, bills, and even taxes, and when played responsibly, they are quite effective at achieving that goal. With a cold drink in hand, we watch and wait for those little cartoon characters to line up in perfect order, and when they do, we forget all about our real-world problems and celebrate with another round. For the extremely lucky few, you may even get to experience the joy of a small jackpot.

But for far too long, that joy has been quickly interrupted by the presence of the dreaded hand pay alert. Just as the excitement is starting to settle, an employee approaches your machine and requires you to fill out some wonderful IRS paperwork. No, it's not much and it doesn't take too long, but it is certainly the last thing you want to be thinking about after winning $1,200. And come on, Wall Street bankers are raking in billions on shady business practices, yet they want to make sure they get their share of my winnings?

Thankfully, a new bi-partisan bill would finally raise the threshold for mandatory IRS reporting from the existing $1,200 to a much more appropriate $5,000. And yes, apparently bi-partisan efforts do still exist. US Representatives Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pennsylvania) have introduced the conveniently named SLOT Act ("Shifting Limits on Thresholds Act”) to raise the limit that was originally set in the 1970's. While it's not exactly life-saving legislation, it is certainly long overdue and something we can all unite on.

What are your thoughts on the new legislation? Have you ever hit a hand pay jackpot? Leave a comment below and let us know.