Canadian gambling tax laws?

[ChuckTs]

I found this thread: The 2+2 Forum Archives: Canadian Online Poker Tax Thread

over at 2p2 but to be honest there's just too much information there, and I'm an incredibly slow reader on top of it.

Anybody know what the actual laws are? From that thread it sounds like if your gambling winnings were earned in any manner that indicates you were 'expecting' them (ie I 'know' I'm a winning player), then they're taxable, otherwise they're considered 'windfall', like a lottery ticket. I always thought whether or not it was taxable was related to how much you made, ie if you cracked 20k in a year then it would be considered your job, and you'd have to be taxed. I'm clueless, please help

I'm getting a little worried because I'm actually making enough now that my bank might notice and report me which is obviously no good.

 

[aliengenius]

Consult your cpa.

Doyle Brunson said you must pay taxes if you expect to be able to accumulate wealth.

 

[38special]

last time i checked gambling income is not taxable in canada, you sir have a free ride.

on the other hand im not an accountant or lawyer, or canadian either.

for what its worth, i've ran a shitload of money back and forth from my bank to my poker accounts and havent had any issues yet (this is usa too)

 

[38special]

Consult your cpa.

Doyle Brunson said you must pay taxes if you expect to be able to accumulate wealth.

he only said this cause you cant put your money in the bank without getting questioned by the man. you cant accumulate wealth without buying investments and in order to do that you have to get your money in the system by paying taxes on it.

you can still accumulate wealth without paying taxes, you'll just have a pile of cash under your mattress that loses value by the day and you can never buy anything over 10k with it or you'll get flagged for an audit.

OP is talking about canada though, different ballgame there.

 

[aliengenius]

he only said this cause you cant put your money in the bank without getting questioned by the man. you cant accumulate wealth without buying investments and in order to do that you have to get your money in the system by paying taxes on it.

you can still accumulate wealth without paying taxes, you'll just have a pile of cash under your mattress that loses value by the day and you can never buy anything over 10k with it or you'll get flagged for an audit.

OP is talking about canada though, different ballgame there.

There's no wealth in Canada?

Anyway, consensus (from 2p2 thread) seems to be that is IS taxable if you have an expectation of profit and it is a primary source of your income. Both true in CT's case.

 

[38special]

i didnt mean to say anything about wealt in canada, i just meant they have different tax laws that other places.

and maybe poker income is taxable, i just know when my buddy picked up 30k in a tourny he didnt have to pay a dime in taxes and had the full amount in his bank account with no problems. he isnt a pro though, so maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[ChuckTs]

It seems like that's generally the big misconception with the laws in Can. - winnings ARE taxable, the laws are just different and probably less strict than in the states where there's a kajillion times more gambling going on.

That 30k your friend won would probably be considered windfall, especially if it was the only big tourney he'd won.