Poker Tournament Winnings tax

With the listings of Poker Room Tourneys, is there a listing anywhere of their tax withholding policies for non resident aliens who do not come from a tax treaty country?

I'm on my way to LV shortly from Australia to play for 3 to 4 weeks golf and $40-$80 poker tourneys.

Last year I got suckered at the Mirage with a $110 payout on a $40 entry and 30% tax on the $70 profit - lowers the EV dramatically. Never any deductions at Sahara for $2k payout or O'Sheas or Harrahs for $600!!

I accept being taxed on big winnings over ....?? but the Mirage policy sucks - is it the same at all MGM props?

Not sure what the hold is for Australians, but for Canadians the automatic withholding is 30% of any single win we have of $1200 or more. However, we can claim it back by filing with the IRS the following calendar year. After all these years I still don't know why they withhold anything since we get it back anyway. You'd think our governments would get their act together and stop this. In Canada we don't pay taxes on gaming wins (casinos/lotteries/etc.), so unless you're in a residency/work situation where you have to pay US taxes it's a waste of time for everyone involved. I would bet that the US pockets a fairly good chunk of cash each year from Canadians who either don't understand that they can get the withheld money back, or just don't want to go through the hassle of filing with the IRS for the return of their money themselves (or through one of the companies that charge a percentage of your refund to do the filing for you). You may want to check into what the rules are for claiming back your withheld taxes through your tax folks, or if it is even possible.

Thanks for that. Casino winnings are not taxable in Australia - neither are losses deductible. I understand the law but how it applies in Vegas seems to differ from casino to casino. Question was about a listing of how individual casinos treat it. Suppose I'll just have to ask the poker room managers prior to tournament entries - assuming they tell the truth!

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe what you can do, if inclined to, is apply for a USA tax identification number. There's no cost, you just fill out a form and wait for a response.

If you have a USA tax ID number, you just write it and sign for your winnings, and they won't withhold.

Again, I'm not 100% certain, but I think it will work this way. You can ask about this the next time you buy in.

Another alternative would be creation of an LLC in one of the 50 states. This will take about an hour in a government office and cost $100 or less. Then you would apply for a tax ID # for the LLC. Again, I am not 100% certain how this would work for a foreign national, but it is probably an option if you plan any significant involvement in gambling here in the USA.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html

This is a link that will get you to the Form W-7. You can look at the instructions for box H.

I've got an ITIN and have had it for many years now. However, it does not prevent the withholding. They still keep 30% till the next calendar year, whether you give them the number or not at the time of the win. That is across the board in every US casino I've ever hit $1200 or more in, so does seem it is applied the same in all for Canadians at least. Just poor coordination between the US and Canadian governments as far as I can tell.