How sports betting could impact your tax refunds

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Tax day is less than a month away, and for many North Carolina residents, sports betting could affect their refunds.

Sports betting became legal in North Carolina in March of 2024, with more than $6.5 billion bet in the first year.

Any winnings you made during the year must be claimed on your state taxes and you will pay income tax on those winnings.

Julian Resendez is the director at JJ Tax Services in Wilmington.

He said people need to make sure they check both what they won and what they lost.

“Because you get to write that off, you get to put that in there as well, not just what you won,” Resendez said. “Everything that you’ve lost up until the winnings, so if you lost more than you won, that’s too bad at that point. But whatever you bet that you lost, that can count as an expense for you.”

House Bill 14 was introduced in this legislative session, which could eliminate bettors having to pay taxes on their losses.

The bill has been referred to the legislative’s Committee on Finance.