You will get a four of a kind on the deal once every 4165 hands, on average. Then a four of kind on the deal in a $0.20 50-play game will pay $0.20 * 5 * 50 * 25 = $1250. To answer your question I’ll assume a four of a kind pays 25 times the bet. Considering the tax implications keeping the full house is the better play. However in a $2 to $10 game hitting four aces will pay over $1200, necessitating a W2G form, while a full house will stay under the limit. For example with AAA88 in 10/7 double bonus the odds marginally favor keeping the aces only. To avoid all of this sometimes the player should consider deviating from optimal strategy. In less classy casinos a hand pay will also cause the tip vultures to start hovering around you.
Although you are obligated to pay taxes on your net win at the end of the year regardless of how many W2G forms you have, a payout of $1200 or more will necessitate a wait and obligate you to tip the person paying you. W2G forms are definitely something to think about when playing video poker at the larger bet amounts.
