Do the Utah and Maryland Kalshi Cases Change Your Taxes?

Neither the Utah case nor the Maryland case changes how Kalshi trades are taxed or reported today. Both are about whether a state can enforce its gambling laws against Kalshi. Neither asks a court to decide federal tax treatment. They are still worth watching, because a finding that these contracts are gambling could shape what platforms and the IRS do later.

Where does the Utah case stand?

This is the position as of November 1, 2026, in date order:

The reports we read on the charges name the company and its two founders, and don’t describe charges against traders. They don’t mention taxes.

Where does the Maryland case stand?

The docket showed no ruling when we last read it, on October 26, 2026, and a news search on November 1 didn’t find one.

Do these cases change your tax forms?

No. Kalshi’s Help Center lists the forms it may send: 1099-INT for interest, 1099-MISC for credits and rewards, and 1099-B or 1099-DA for crypto transfers. Its Documents page says it doesn’t report profits and losses to the IRS. So for this year, you still work out and report your trading result yourself, wherever you live.

What could change later?

• How platforms report. KPMG says the IRS hasn’t addressed reporting, and that platforms must choose a reasonable characterization for now. White & Case raises possible W-2G and withholding exposure for platforms if contracts are treated as gambling. Whether Kalshi takes taxes out today.
• The federal gambling argument. A court calling these contracts bets isn’t a tax ruling, but it can be cited in one. Why a state’s label doesn’t decide your federal tax.
• The Supreme Court. New Jersey’s petition (No. 26-299) is pending, with Kalshi’s response due November 9, 2026. The Court hasn’t said whether it will hear the case. What that case means for taxes.
• Your access. If a platform stopped serving your state, positions you closed would still count in the year they close. That is a reason to keep your records current.

What if you live in Utah or Maryland?

You still owe federal tax on any profit, and both states have an income tax. IRS Publication 525 says income from illegal activities must be reported too, so the outcome of these cases doesn’t remove the tax on profit you already made.

• Utah has a 4.45% flat rate and no gambling loss deduction.
• Maryland has rates from 2% to 6.5%, and allows gambling losses only if you itemize.

These cases raise legal questions that a tax page can’t answer. For your own position as a trader in either state, ask a lawyer licensed there.

What should you do now?

• Keep filing and reporting as you were. Nothing in these cases changes it this year.
• Download your trade records now, so you have them whatever happens with access in your state.
• Save your method and your reasoning with your return, so you can revisit it if the law moves.

WagerMints shows your year under all four federal methods, including what a gambling reading would cost you.

Questions about the Utah and Maryland cases

General information about US tax, not tax or legal advice.