I'm pretty sure it's legal (at least in N.Y. the undisputed champ of stupid laws). You can get a special tax form if you do this and hit so that one person doesn't get socked with the whole tax hit. Last fall a friend and myself split a super ticket at OTB (my picks), it hit for 3 large and not only didn't the OTB have the form I requested but they never heard of it (IRS form 5754 so everyone gets their own W2-G). After calling the main office (who had heard of it) they just gave us each our own W2-G with my 2000 on mine and his 1000 on his. It wasn't 50-50 because they were MY picks. So long as it adds up to the entire winnings they didn't seem to care. I wish I had them withhold because between that and my big Derby winnings last year I'm getting creamed.
|