Canadian Online Poker Tax Thread - Page 12

Phytopath · #**111** 03-30-2007, 01:07 PM

So if you make about the same in your full time job as playing poker part time then you don't need to file? Sorry if this has been asked, but there is alot of conflicting info in this an other threads.

QBert80 · #**112** 03-30-2007, 03:20 PM

The advice I received was that if you have a fulltime or near-fulltime job, regardless of how much you make playing poker it is considered windfall and is not taxable. What the CRA considers is whether you expect to make a living from poker or if it is a hobby. If you have a job that generates a fulltime income you can claim that poker is a hobby, your job is your income, and not pay tax on your winnings.

-zero- · #**113** 03-30-2007, 03:37 PM

I guess my question is better summarized as: Is being a full-time student the same thing as having a full-time job in the eyes of the CRA? And how does my taking of this semester off and only returning to full-time status in Sept affect this?

MrHoobris · #**114** 04-03-2007, 11:59 AM

I'd be very interested in hearing a response to this student question. I'm a full-time student in a 4-year program at a well-known university. Is this equivalent to having a full-time job?

SlightlyMad · #**115** 04-03-2007, 12:15 PM

As I said earlier in the thread, the advice I received differs from what Qbert received in the sense that if you make more playing poker than you do at your job, you should claim your winnings. If Poker$ > Employment$, why wouldn't your poker be your principal occupation and your "job" as your pastime?

As a student, you're not earning money; it's not employment. It would be VERY difficult to argue that you're not living on the money you've earned (whether through buying books or beer) ... and if you're playing for a large period of time each day, it will be very difficult to prove that you are not approaching it as a full-time enterprise that is the equivalent of self-employment.

The safest approach would be to pay taxes on it and consult a tax professional to figure out what expenses you can write off.

nimajneb · #**116** 04-03-2007, 12:19 PM

How should income from bonuses and rakeback be treated?

Could an analogy to AirMiles (which are not taxed AFAIK) be drawn?

SlightlyMad · #**117** 04-03-2007, 12:41 PM

I severely doubt they should have preferential treatment.

Rakeback and bonuses have immediate cash value, and does it really matter when you deposit $100, and withdraw $150 whether it came from winning a NL$50 pot, rakeback or a $50 deposit bonus? You still had to "earn" the money through playing poker, no matter how it was given to you.

Party Poker points have a cash value of 1 cent/point, so it would be difficult to argue that this isn't a direct bonus.

The best analogy to AirMiles that you could draw would be the PokerStars FPPs, since they are not directly translatable into cash. However, I am claiming them at about 1.8 cents/point, since I do turn the goods that I receive into cash (through bartering them to friends).

bonushunter · #**118** 04-12-2007, 09:09 PM

CFE and others, there wasn't really an opinion clearly stated on making money with casino bonuses. With the method I am using I am losing over 80% of the time. It is true that on average I am winning more than I lose but do I have a case to not pay taxes? I am unemployed, making in the high 6 figures.

jimmyfingers · #**119** 05-27-2007, 07:23 PM

back to bonuses and rakeback. does anyone have any input about whether bonuses and rakeback are taxable?

if a casino comps someone a hotel room, meal, limo ride, etc., are those "gifts" taxable? what about if they comp cash?

i know nothing about the subject, but it seems to me like rakeback shouldn't be taxable. for example, if the site just charged you 25% less rake instead of giving you 25% of your rake back at the end of the month, the effect would be the same, and those extra earnings would only be taxable with the same caveats as normal winnings. if rakeback is taxable, can we deduct our total rake paid as an expense?

no idea about bonuses. i would think if a site gives you an iPod it wouldn't be taxable, but i know cash is treated differently.

thoughts?

Bobo Fett · #**120** 05-27-2007, 07:31 PM

I'm not answering from any level of tax expertise, just common sense.

If you report your winnings at the tables as your income, yes rake is deductable, and you've ALREADY deducted it. If you sit at a table with $50, and leave with $60, I would call that $10 profit. If I paid $2 rake during that session, I actually made $12 before the rake. I've effectively deducted the rake already. Since I've deducted the rake, it only makes sense to me that rakeback would be taxable.