Can I be taxed on Casino winnings in Canada?

Question

Recently I have been winning a lot at casino, and plan to be going on a daily bases and cashing out over $10,000 for at least 5-7 days straight. They asked for ID as they said the government requires it for anything over 10k being cashed out.

My Cash-in amount is always $5000 each time i went and each time i plan to go.

My Salary is under $50,000

Location: Quebec, CA

What i was wanting to know is that will i get taxed on this money? For example (i hope) if i end up with around $40,000-$60,000 in cash, will i get taxed or audited? OR anything else i should know?

I am not doing anything suspicious or illegal, the winnings are legit, and as is the money i go in with (can be traced right back to times that i have taken it out from ATM).

Please take this question serious and not make jokes, and also...

Please only answer if you truly know this from a legal stand point, no opinions or comments needed.

Thank You in advance for those who are providing proper answers.

Answer 1

No, casino winnings are not subject to tax in Canada. If you're a Canadian citizen gambling in US casinos (either in person or online) you'll find that around 30% of the winnings are withheld to cover non-US residents' tax.

To recover those, you will need to keep a record of the date, time, location, and amounts of all gambling wins and losses.

You can then submit a form 1040NR to the US IRS, and deduct your gambling losses against any winnings. In this way you can reclaim the tax that has been withheld from your winnings.

More info on the steps can be found at http://www.howlandtax.com/articles/gambl...

As for the amounts being wagered and won/lost, don't worry. Precedent was set in the Canadian courts with the CRA took the Leblanc brothers to court over their winnings. Between 1996 and 1999 they had won an estimated $5.5 million, having wagered an estimated $52 million.

The judge ruled the Leblanc brothers were not running a business, and therefore their winners were normal gambling income and therefore untaxable.

As with everything, keep very good records. Where and when you withdrew cash, where and when you placed bets and for what amounts, what you won, and also keep all receipts, betting stubs, and everything you can.