WSOP Tax Treatment for Aussies

[trundle1]

Hi

Hopefully someone can give me a bit of guidance here, apologies if this topic has already been covered elsewhere in the forum..

I'm playing in a couple of the early WSOP events in June. On the website it says "Players without a Tax Identification Number and Foreign Players from Non-Tax Treaty Countries are subject to up to 30% tax withholding"

I'm an Australian resident/taxpayer so I am from a Tax Treaty country, but I do not have a Tax Identification Number.

Do I need to get one from the IRS, to avoid the 30% withholding tax? And if so, do I need to do that from here, or can it be done while over there?

Thanks for any help - I figured there would be at least a few people on here that would have cashed over there so would have been in the same boat

[djkelly69]

you will be subject to 30% withholding tax. do a search, there are a few threads on this already.

[luckyshades]

[Monkey]

Hi

Hopefully someone can give me a bit of guidance here, apologies if this topic has already been covered elsewhere in the forum..

I'm playing in a couple of the early WSOP events in June. On the website it says "Players without a Tax Identification Number and Foreign Players from Non-Tax Treaty Countries are subject to up to 30% tax withholding"

I'm an Australian resident/taxpayer so I am from a Tax Treaty country, but I do not have a Tax Identification Number.
Do I need to get one from the IRS, to avoid the 30% withholding tax? And if so, do I need to do that from here, or can it be done while over there?

Thanks for any help - I figured there would be at least a few people on here that would have cashed over there so would have been in the same boat

No you're not

Australia does not have a tax treaty with the USA, so all Australians won something like $1700 or more pay 30% tax on their winnings, no if buts or maybes

There is a large thread which talks about Aus players getting passports from countries that have a tax treaty with the US but there is some gray area there, I think the overall consensus was if you live in AUS then you're paying the tax

[SwoopAE]

Its when you win 5k or more (or so I was told last year)

[.71428.]

Its when you win 5k or more (or so I was told last year)

Yes, that's my undertsanding from last year at WSOP events. Australia has some tax agreements with Yanks but does not include gambling, so expect to not get 30% of your winnings. Maybe check with Venetian Casino as they may not do this during their deepstack series.

[steve_farha]

SP will confirm they did, he got a big score last year

[pkrmonster]

Maybe check with Venetian Casino as they may not do this during their deepstack series.

Yes they do

[hav0cLOL]

fwiw live satellites and cash games (ldo) are not taxed. also gary benson mentions that you can claim some back at the end for expenses, etc. so if you do decide to make the trip anyway, remember to save receipts

[C_Bomb]

fwiw live satellites and cash games (ldo) are not taxed.

Its the amount you try to cash in at the cage. If you try to cash too much at once you'll need to fill in the form and pay tax.

Gary Benson mentions that you can claim some back at the end for expenses, etc. so if you do decide to make the trip anyway, remember to save receipts

This would mean the you have to declare yourself as a professional which may mean you'll be subject to an audit (very unlikely though) if declaring this at the time you win to get some $$ back on expenses.