Is Gambling Tax-Free?

One concern that online gamblers have is the amount of tax they may be required to pay on their winnings. The question is how much of their winnings are going to go to the government and how much gets to stay in their pockets. This is a legitimate concern since in countries like Macau, tax on gambling winnings is at 40 percent.

It is all about geography because each country enforces a different tax rate for gambling winnings. That rate can be different from the rate for income tax rate, unless you live in Spain where your gambling winnings are considered income and thereby taxed at the same rate.

Tax Rates Around the World

The gambling tax rates around the world vary. As mentioned, Macau has a high tax rate of 40 percent whereas Latvia comes in second place at 25 percent and Nigeria in third place at 20 percent. Portugal only taxes lottery winnings at a rate of 35 percent while Slovenia taxes 50 percent of lottery winnings but only if they exceed €4,000.

South Africa only taxes 6 percent on horse racing, Greece taxes 10 percent on lottery winnings, and the Netherlands takes out 29 percent of taxes on winnings above €454. France has a more complicated system in that they tax 2 percent on poker winnings and 7.5 percent % on horse racing and sports betting winnings. Sports betting and horse racing also have levies attached to them.

In Ireland, taxes are handled in a very unique way in that only bookies pay 1 percent tax but just on bets opposed to winnings. Kenya is the opposite with a 7.5 percent tax on winnings only.

Countries with Tax-Free Gambling

While there are a lot of countries that tax bets or winnings, there are many countries that do not tax players at all. Those countries are:

• Australia
• Austria
• Bulgaria
• Belgium
• Czech Republic
• Canada
• Finland
• Germany
• Hungary
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Romania
• Sweden
• UK

In these countries, you do not have to report your gambling winnings as income. One reason why is because losses tend to exceed winnings. These countries do not want to provide any sort of deduction for gambling losses. If losses commonly exceed winnings, it does not seem worthwhile to create a tax law that requires additional paperwork or for the government to lose money on compensating for the income losses that result from gambling.

Read Your Tax Laws

Is gambling tax-free? It can be depending on where you live. It is good to review the tax laws in your country so you know what to expect when it comes to taxes and your winnings. For instance, you may want to ensure that you have funds to pay a tax bill if you are in a country that does not have enough credits to offset those winnings.

It is good to be prepared. That way, you are not caught off guard, especially if you hit it big at your favorite online casino. If you live in a country like Macau where the tax rate is 40 percent, be sure you can afford to pay the mandated tax.