If you have played and won in an American gaming establishment, you might have seen the casino retain part of your winnings. As for any form of revenue, the Internal Revenue Service, IRS, considers winning money in a casino as a gain and as such it is taxable. You must know that from a certain amount won, depending on the casino, it must retain 30% of any winnings by a player. In return, the player may recuperate part or all of this money by producing an American Income Tax Return. A Canadian citizen has three years to fill such a claim.
What games are taxable? Every casino game, any tournament, horse or dog races, lottery tickets, TV show gains, etc.
A Canadian wishing to reclaim his taxes must first get a fiscal identification number, similar to our Social Insurance Number. In the US it’s called an ITIN, for Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. An authenticated copy of a passport is now required to request an ITIN. Of course, Gamblingtaxes.ca can provide you with the details of how to obtain this mandatory document from Passport Canada. Alternatively, as a Canadian Certifying Acceptance Agent, GamblingTaxes can also authenticate your ID documents.
Once your passport authenticated, you fill a W-7 Form, to which you join your authenticated copy. With your 1042-S, received from the casino/racino, detailing your gain, you can now go online and fill a 1040NR form, then download it. Of course you already know the amount won and the taxes deducted. All that’s left to do is fill in the expenses allowed and you’re on your way! Unfortunately, this is where it gets complicated. Who can claim what? What percentage can you claim? What proofs do you need?
This is where an expert firm becomes essential. For example, if you win 50 000$ in a slot machine while playing with your spouse, can you split this gain? Is it useful? If you win on a trip and lose on a subsequent trip, can you still claim expenses from the second? Can you reclaim the entire amount? Are there repercussions on your Canadian taxes?
As you can see, the expertise that Gamblingtaxes.ca has developed through the years can become a precious ally for players who are experts in their field but who have little knowledge on foreign fiscal matters.
