Poker Forums

What are the legalities surrounding claiming poker income in your taxes?

Is there a threshold where above which you are required to claim it? I made just shy of 20k last year from my various online accounts and the largest single cash-out (and deposit into my checking acct) was only 1700. Do you have any general idea of what I should be aware of before i send in my return?

I plan on claiming none, so unless otherwise specified, fuck the IRS. If the US gov't wants to make me jump through hoops to play a game of skill, they can kiss my ass come tax time....at least I hope haha.


PS. I've never claimed anything in the previous 3 yrs i've been a winning player (tho my winnings in those years were considerably less). Should I be fearful of an audit?

Technically you are suppose to claim your winnings on your income taxes. This is using the honor system unless you have won your money at a casino or somewhere and they issued you a W2-G form.

In my book, that means "Tax-Free, Baby!!!"

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ertrauma


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As my father always said, "Son, choose your sword wisely for some day you may find you must fall on it".

Yeah ER is correct for US citizens.

Basically, if you are a US citizen you have to report worldwide income. It doesn't matter if your a camel jockey in Saudi Arabia working for peanuts.

The one benefit is that I think most of the earnings up to 75k a year are tax free if you work out of the US more than 180 days a year or something like that. Please double check with a taxman

There are some countries that view gambling winnings completely tax free.

On a side note: If you are a professional online poker player there is a pretty strong argument for being able to live anywhere you want. I know several guys who live in Thailand, Brazil, Mexico. It's a triple whammy, you get a much lower cost of living, better lifestyle, and you have favorable tax status.

The most important thing here is to know the laws of the country you live in.


Jason

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I'm Not Lucky, I Have Good Karma !

Good point GKK. As a professional gambler you can also take advantage of different residency laws. I am Canadian and do not have to pay income tax in Canada if I am not a resident of Canada. I can live in Canada for part of the year, and come and go as I please as long I am not here more than x number of days in a calendar year, otherwise I would be classified as a resident. I believe you can do this in the U.S as well. My aunt is Canadian and spends about 6months of the year in Florida where she owns a home. She lives off of spousal support but does not have to pay income tax in the U.S. If she were to live in a place like the Bahamas for a few months of the year as well, then she could claim non resident status in Canada and not pay income tax anywhere.

I cant do this right now however as I have a 9 year old daughter, who lives with her mother, but I couldnt leave her for 6 months at a time. It's definitely something that I will consider when she's old enough though. Thailand and brazil sound cool.

lol Thailand doesn't sound so cool right now:

Calls for revolution: Tourists warned to stay away as violent protesters take to Bangkok's streets forcing PM to flee | Mail Online

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OnlinePokerSites.net

This is always the chance that you are taking when you start living in another country. Wow, it sure sounds like fun being in a foreign county when they are having a revolution. It would be especialy handy around people that can't understand a word you say, and you can't understand them and they are screaming at you!