I would assume bonuses are the same as comps, and I think those are considered to be gambling income.

I'm reporting it because I have plenty of money to pay taxes on it, and I have zero interest in getting in trouble with the IRS.

My opinions of US taxation of poker income.

In my opinion, there are two requirements for someone to have a trade or business and be treated as a professional:

1. Intent to make a profit.

2. Keeping good records.

It seems that if a poker player satisfies those two requirements, he can be treated as a professional like any other business. To my knowledge there is nothing to the contrary denying a poker player from professional treatment if he meets the general requirement for a trade of business. He should be treated like any other business.

Many people in other other types of businesses are taxed as part-time professionals. I can't think of any reason why a poker professional can't have a part-time business.

Many people in other fields of business have losses and can deduct them or carry them back or forward subject to certain limitations. I can't think of any reason why poker professions should be treated any differently then other businesses.

A self-employed professional who has a business, reports his income and losses on Schedule C of Form 1040. If he has income over a certain amount, he is also subject to self employment tax on schedule SE. If he has a loss, whether he can deduct the loss against other types of income depends on whether the business is classified as an active or passive activity, as area in which the rules are quite complicated.

As a self employed professional he can set up certain types of retirement plans (IRA, SIMPLE IRA, profit-sharing, etc), make a contribution, and get a deduction for his contribution.

The alternative to being a professional is treating your poker winning and losses as gambling winnings and losses.

Gambling winnings for each "winning session" are totalled and put on Form 1040, line 21 as gambling winnings.

Gambling losses for each "losing session" are totalled and deducted to the extent of total winnings and put on Form 1040, Schedule A, Line 27 as a miscellaneous itemized deduction. If you take the standard deduction, because it is larger than the itemized deduction, then you will not receive any benefit from your gambling losses as an itemized deduction.

What constitutes a "session" for purposes of playing poker is not clearly defined from my reading in the area. There are many instances in the tax law where a situation is not clearly defined. In those cases, one should make a reasonable interpretation depending upon their situation and their records. There are some that advocate that poker is one lifetime session, and could be broken down into one yearly session for reporting purposes. That is a very liberal interpretation, but it perhaps might be considered to be reasonable, or perhaps might not. Let your conscience be your guide.

In my opinion, bonuses, rebates, and rakebacks should be treated the same as poker winnings and subject to the same treatment as described above. However, how to assign these types of items into "sessions", should that be necessary, could be difficult.

Although I have some knowledge in the US taxation field, the above are my opinion only. Consult a competent tax professional.