[Cold Warrior]

Actually, if you are a non-resident alien with US income you are liable for federal income taxes.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

Actually, if you are a non-resident alien with US income you are liable for federal income taxes.

Worth than that. In many financial dealings the feds require 30% witholding.

[Cold Warrior]

10% for real property transactions (FIRPTA).

[hotjambalaya]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

Actually, if you are a non-resident alien with US income you are liable for federal income taxes.

Originally Posted by lvoc

Worth than that. In many financial dealings the feds require 30% witholding.

Maybe on income, not on gambling. Trust me on this, I'm not liable for taxes on gambling winnings, not a penny, zip, nada, zilch.

For further clarification, the IRS spell it out nicely.

Example
Mary, a citizen and resident of Ireland, visits the United States and wins $5,000 playing a slot machine in a casino. Under the treaty with Ireland, the winnings are not subject to U.S. tax. Mary claims the treaty benefits by providing a Form W-8BEN to the casino upon winning at the slot machine. However, she does not have an ITIN. The casino is an acceptance agent that can request an ITIN on an expedited basis.
Situation 1. Assume that Mary won the money on Sunday. Since the IRS does not issue ITINs on Sunday, the casino can pay $5,000 to Mary without withholding U.S. tax. The casino must, on the following Monday, fax a completed Form W-7 for Mary, including the required certification, to the IRS for an expedited ITIN.
Situation 2. Assume that Mary won the money on Monday. To pay the winnings without withholding U.S. tax, the casino must apply for and get an ITIN for Mary because an expedited ITIN is available from the IRS at the time of the payment.

U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number Requirement

I have an ITIN, any winnings (not that I play slots at all) all I'd have to do is show my passport and give the ITIN number. Table games are better though, since its all in chips no one ever asks no matter what I've cashed out.

[Caltovegas]

So when paying out winnings do casinos take out an amount for taxes or do they just payout the full amount and just send the IRS a notice of the winning amount?

[Cold Warrior]

Maybe on income, not on gambling. Trust me on this, I'm not liable for taxes on gambling winnings, not a penny, zip, nada, zilch.

Yes, there it is buried in IRS publication 901 Table 2. You are tax free as long as your maximum presence in the US is less than 182 days.

[ScoopLV]

Or you could start your own church, claim that casinos are your place of worship, that people with poor math skills comprise your congregation, and turn the whole thing into a tax exemption scheme.

If John Oliver can legally do it, so can you!

[hotjambalaya]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

Yes, there it is buried in IRS publication 901 Table 2. You are tax free as long as your maximum presence in the US is less than 182 days.

Yes, because then I'm deemed resident. But believe me I'm staying non resident!

[nickydim]

Originally Posted by Caltovegas

So when paying out winnings do casinos take out an amount for taxes or do they just payout the full amount and just send the IRS a notice of the winning amount?

They give you the cash but submit a W-2g. It's important you play with a card once you hit a big hit, so you can document losses against the win. You can claim losses against the win until it cancel the win out making it tax free, but if you cannot prove your loses (like a balance statement from your casinos) you'll be left to pay taxes. This is only for machine wins ($1200). And yes the IRS is looking to lower it to $600, which is ridiculous. It's been $1200 forever, if anything, they should raise it to at lease $2400 or $4000. More and more gamers play $1 VP than $.25VP and slots compared to 20 years ago, and $1200 has gotten won far more often than years past. I've heard the Casino lobby is really fighting this hard as it will make gaming higher denominations less attractive if you have to report more, plus the # of frequencies that play would stop and an attendants services are needed, costing far more to the casino to implement.

The Govt does not like cash, they can't keep track of it and tax it. It's why you won't see $500/$1000/$10000 bills any more. Remember Monte Hall use to have a pocket full of them on Lets make a Deal in the '60s.

Back to paying taxes. They should make machines like tables and base the taxing on odds of return. You pay taxes on table games of 300-1 or better only. So if you're betting $10 a hand and hit a 4ofakind in Mississippi stud and get paid (40-1) on all four bets = $4,000 no taxes. But if you play a $10 slot and hit $1200 (120-1) you get a W-2 for the same amount.

Casinos want you to bet bigger, and the new lower limit of $600 the IRS is trying to push through will have a big impact on casino gaming.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by nickydim

The Govt does not like cash, they can't keep track of it and tax it. It's why you won't see $500/$1000/$10000 bills any more. Remember Monte Hall use to have a pocket full of them on Lets make a Deal in the '60s.

The last high-denomination bank notes were printed in the 1930s. Monte Hall wasn't giving away $500 bills because they were worth considerably more than $500, even in the 1960s and 1970s. If I recall correctly, ol' Monte made a big production out of counting out $100 bills -- complete with drum hits as he laid them into the hands of the costumed nitwits who appeared on his show.