North Carolina lawmakers have approved legislation that would expand the state’s access to sports betting records while introducing other tax changes affecting businesses, property owners and disaster relief.
Senate Bill 595 passed the Senate and now awaits final action before reaching Gov. Josh Stein. Among its provisions, the bill would require sportsbooks to provide information about customers with at least $2,000 in annual winnings, giving the Department of Revenue greater access to betting records to enforce state tax laws.
If requested, sportsbooks would have to provide a bettor’s name, address, Social Security number or tax identification number, wagering history, winnings and other information needed to verify compliance. Supporters say the proposal aligns North Carolina with existing federal reporting requirements while strengthening state tax enforcement.
Current federal rules require gambling winnings to be reported as taxable income regardless of whether a bettor receives Form W-2G, which sportsbooks generally issue only when winnings reach at least $2,000 and exceed 300 times the amount wagered.
North Carolina’s proposal would make the Department of Revenue the authority with direct access to sportsbook records.
Tax Proposal Sparks Debate
The reporting requirement has drawn criticism because North Carolina does not allow bettors to deduct gambling losses from winnings on their state income tax returns. A bettor who wins and loses the same amount during the year may still owe state tax on gross winnings.
Federal rules also changed after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 limited gambling-loss deductions to 90% of losses for taxpayers who itemize deductions.
The broader tax package also includes changes affecting research businesses, property tax refunds, timber owners impacted by Hurricane Helene, sales tax calculations, vape store oversight and penalties for frivolous tax returns.
Some Democratic lawmakers objected to late additions, particularly changes affecting research and development tax treatment.
“Imagine a young tech startup receives a $1 million research grant, and spends every dollar of it on qualifying R&D in that same year,” Sen. Jay Chaudhuri said. “Economically, the company’s profit is $0. But under the current provision, as written, only $200,000 may be deducted in one year — meaning that the company owes taxes on $800,000 of income that does not actually exist.”
Sen. Tom McInnis defended the legislation, acknowledging it contained “a couple of late provisions that some of you didn’t see.”
He added, “We’ll certainly take another look, but the bill before us today is one that’s most important. We’ve been working on it long enough to have conceived and birthed a child, and sent them to child care. This bill has got a lot of moving parts that affect a lot of people in our state.”
Additional Measures Continue Through Legislature
Lawmakers are also discussing a separate proposal to increase the state’s sports betting tax from 18% to 23% of gross wagering revenue through the budget process. Last year’s proposal to raise the rate to 36% failed after lawmakers could not reach an agreement.
The Senate also advanced bills addressing Medicaid fraud and restricting farmland purchases by governments identified as foreign adversaries. Those measures continue through the legislative process alongside Senate Bill 595.
Source:
“NC Senate OKs new tax rules for sports bettors, entrepreneurs and others”, wral.com, Jun 23, 2026
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