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View Full Version : Canadian students studying / playing poker on the US on student visas!


nevadaJACK
07-13-2006, 07:36 PM
This issue is driving me out of my mind, and I figure there MUST be someone on these boards in a similar position.

I study full-time in the US, and I am a filing as a non-resident Alien, but can't figure out if I owe taxes on my online poker winnings.
Directly from IRS pub. 519:
"A nonresident alien usually is subject to U.S. income tax only on U.S. source income. Under limited circumstances, certain foreign source income is subject to U.S. tax. See Foreign Income in chapter 4."

My reading of the above provision indicates that I am NOT responsible for paying US taxes on my gambling winnings b/c online sites are offshore...just wondering whether any Canadians have read the tax codes and come to the same / different conclusions.

***The thing that's giving me pause is that later in pub. 519, it says that even non-resident aliens may owe taxes for "Personal Services" performed in the US...I can't imagine that online poker would be considered a "personal service"
...but I just don't want to run afoul of the law with respect to my winnings.

bigt2k4
07-13-2006, 08:04 PM
[censored] it, wait till you're back across the border or withdraw funds to Canadian bank account

MexKrax
07-13-2006, 09:42 PM
I'm in the same situation as you and I came to the same conclusion. ie. I believe that online poker winnings are non-US sourced income and if you are filing taxes as a non-resident alien then you don't have to pay US taxes on that income. I haven't contacted a lawyer or an accountant or anything like that, but to me the tax code seems pretty clear that non-resident aliens don't have to pay taxes on online poker winnings.

Although just to hedge my bets I'm keeping enough cash in my emigrant direct savings account to pay my taxes if it comes to that.

TorontoCFE
07-16-2006, 07:01 PM
Poker is not a personal service.

It is not likely that you will have problems
if you don't declare poker income.

It would be tough to win a case that it is a
US sourced income and you are not likely to be
looked at too closely. as a non-resident alien