US Tax refunds

ryanghall · Sep 10,2011, 12:18 PM

I've read threads on this before but have yet to see solid answers.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do about this? I had over $4K taken off from my Main Event cash. I talked to a tax accountant and he said I had to do all these things like download and fill out a W7 form (?) or something and go to a US lawyer over the border and get something signed.

Does all of this stuff actually have to be done?

Also, if I don't have losses equalling the amount taken off, should I go and play like a 1K or something in the states, because it would be essentially freerolling it?

Has anyone used any services, or any tax accountants? I heard RMS is being scrutinized closely by the govt or something so they may not be the best choice....

I just want to get this done and get the biggest amount with the least hassle.

blackmagicz · Sep 10,2011, 12:40 PM

Essentially that is what RMS is doing for you. They get you a US taxpayer ID and then they fill out all the paperwork and deduct a % off the refund. Now there are a few discussions surrounding this.

1. You need losses to claim back taxes
2. You can goto an accountant and get everything back.

With #1

Looks like this seems to be the norm for all the refund companies in canada. They put together a tax claim with your losses (hotels/food/plane/buy in) receipts and you get some cash back. But essentially you need to have 3x the amount of losses to get back your tax. I know in most people's cases this isn't a reality as I haven't lost 40k in the states ever....let alone in the last 3 years.

With #2

I have heard from others that have had to do this "refund" business that there are accountants in St. Catherines and Buffalo that will take care of this for you for a set fee (like 100.00 or whatever) and they work the numbers so that you can get a full claim back without any receipts. I haven't validated this but there are several different people that have told me the same thing.

For the time being we really can't do anything until 2012 so I think that is when we will have more definite information.

SteveKerr · Sep 10,2011, 12:43 PM

I was told by RMS that you cannot use hotels/food/plane(flight) for losses only gambling loses

ryanghall · Sep 10,2011, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackmagicz

Essentially that is what RMS is doing for you. They get you a US taxpayer ID and then they fill out all the paperwork and deduct a % off the refund. Now there are a few discussions surrounding this.

1. You need losses to claim back taxes
2. You can goto an accountant and get everything back.

With #1

Looks like this seems to be the norm for all the refund companies in canada. They put together a tax claim with your losses (hotels/food/plane/buy in) receipts and you get some cash back. But essentially you need to have 3x the amount of losses to get back your tax. I know in most people's cases this isn't a reality as I haven't lost 40k in the states ever....let alone in the last 3 years.

With #2

I have heard from others that have had to do this "refund" business that there are accountants in St. Catherines and Buffalo that will take care of this for you for a set fee (like 100.00 or whatever) and they work the numbers so that you can get a full claim back without any receipts. I haven't validated this but there are several different people that have told me the same thing.

For the time being we really can't do anything until 2012 so I think that is when we will have more definite information.

Wait, what's this past 3 years stuff? I've played the main + a few other events each year so that'd be perfect!

blackmagicz · Sep 10,2011, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryanghall

Wait, what's this past 3 years stuff? I've played the main + a few other events each year so that'd be perfect!

Yeah you can carry over losses for 3 years....get those receipts.

BlondeFish · Sep 11,2011, 01:25 AM

If you are willing to spend the time to do it yourself, read Voodoo's Guide to recovering withheld taxes in the USA. If not, PM Voodoo if he is available to do it or PokerTaxRebate.com, RMS, etc.

RMS and other refund services don't seem to bother including receipts when they file with the IRS, so they might be willing to help you cheat the US government

and get a full refund of your $4,163 tax without offsetting losses - unless the IRS audits you or RMS! RMS charges between 10%-25% of your refund, so it may be cheaper to go to a service that charges a flat fee instead. If you are Xuan Liu, RMS will charge the 25% slots rate as RMS thinks that a girl can't possibly have won first place money playing poker!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryanghall

Also, if I don't have losses equalling the amount taken off, should I go and play like a 1K or something in the states, because it would be essentially freerolling it?

No, it's not a freeroll. For example, if you buy into a $1K tournament at horrible Seneca Casino this year and don't cash, you can submit the $1K receipt to legally claim a refund of $300 from your $4K withheld. But you would still be down by at least $700 for playing in the worst casino in the world for Canadians to buy into a poker tournament.

BlondeFish · Sep 11,2011, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackmagicz

Yeah you can carry over losses for 3 years....get those receipts.

As victims of the 30% tax have told me, you can only claim gambling losses in the SAME YEAR as your gambling win. You have up to 3 years to FILE for a USA tax refund on your gaming taxes, but if you had $4K withheld in 2011, you can only use losses in 2011 to offset it. If you buy into a U$1K event on January 2012, you cannot use that receipt to claim a refund for 2011.