canadian tax

[ejay]

i was wondering if anyone here knew what the law was regarding to fulltime students in canada and poker income. I hav heard that fulltime students do not have to declare but i have also heard from other sources that they do..Alos does anyone know where this type of info could be found maybe? I looked at the canada revenue site but that was not a lot of help..

[PantsOnFire]

As a fellow Canadian, I did a search a while ago on this very topic. As you have discovered, it is difficult to find an official statement on this.

Here is my finding and I'm quite comfortable with it. As you know, in Canada lottery winnings etc. are not taxable. However, when gambling becomes your main source of income, you need to declare the winnings. In other words, professional poker players (or any other form of gambling) need to state that it is their primary income and file tax forms like anybody else.

I would suggest that anybody who files a tax form for a job whether it's a waiter, a doctor, an engineer, or a small business owner can probably play and win at poker and not worry at all. If you have no job or are collecting some welfare or such and are paying the rent with your poker winnings, you may have a problem.

As a fulltime student, I don't think you have time to be a professional anything. If you have a nightime job as a bartender, then you may have to file taxes for that but any poker winnings I highly doubt will matter to Revenue Canada.

This has actually brought up an interesting situation. If you declare that you primary profession is a poker player, then you need to declare your income. However, you can also now claim deductions from your income for a variety of expenses like computers (for online play), internet connection, travel to live casinos, etc.

So if you have a part time job with a small income and declare poker as your primary income, then if you don't win much at poker or break even, perhaps the poker related expenses can offset your other income. Now that's something to consider!

In general, I would say that you don't really need to worry about declaring poker income until you reach a level such that you are appearing to TV a lot and winning a substantial amount such that you are actually making a good living at it while having no other "real" job.

I would be personally very pissed off if the taxman went after fulltime students who made a few bucks playing poker.

[ejay]

I had a part time job until early summer so i guess i will file for that, and since i am a fulltime student (and i still live at home) i dont think that i am considered a professional...

[PantsOnFire]

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I had a part time job until early summer so i guess i will file for that, and since i am a fulltime student (and i still live at home) i dont think that i am considered a professional...

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You know what would be really interesting? Say you made $12K at your part time job and $1K playing poker. If you declared that $1K of poker winnings as income, you could like start a laundry list of expenses. You may be able to come up with enough expenses to reduce your taxes in a significant way.

One drawback I can potentially see is that the Governement might now expect you to declare poker earning on all your subsequent tax returns.

It may in the long run be better for most of us non-professional players to just play poker and collect the winnings undeclared and thus untaxed. Or it may not. Interesting situation.....

[elmo]

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You know what would be really interesting? Say you made $12K at your part time job and $1K playing poker. If you declared that $1K of poker winnings as income, you could like start a laundry list of expenses. You may be able to come up with enough expenses to reduce your taxes in a significant way.

One drawback I can potentially see is that the Governement might now expect you to declare poker earning on all your subsequent tax returns.

It may in the long run be better for most of us non-professional players to just play poker and collect the winnings undeclared and thus untaxed. Or it may not. Interesting situation.....

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I highly doubt its that easy. In the US, they wont let you file as a pro gambler unless you meet certain conditions including making a profit for several years. You can't write-off more than you've ever declared and still qualify as a pro. I would assume the Canadian system is equally non-retarded.

[PantsOnFire]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

You know what would be really interesting? Say you made $12K at your part time job and $1K playing poker. If you declared that $1K of poker winnings as income, you could like start a laundry list of expenses. You may be able to come up with enough expenses to reduce your taxes in a significant way.

One drawback I can potentially see is that the Governement might now expect you to declare poker earning on all your subsequent tax returns.

It may in the long run be better for most of us non-professional players to just play poker and collect the winnings undeclared and thus untaxed. Or it may not. Interesting situation.....

[/ QUOTE ]

I highly doubt its that easy. In the US, they wont let you file as a pro gambler unless you meet certain conditions including making a profit for several years. You can't write-off more than you've ever declared and still qualify as a pro. I would assume the Canadian system is equally non-retarded.

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That may be possible. I'm not in a position yet to spend much more time worrying about it though.

[oakley77]

As a fulltime student myself, im pretty sure you dont have to declare it. You're only supposed to declare it if it is your primary/sole source of income, but as a full time student it is more of a "hobby" than a job so you can easily get by without claiming