Hand pay tax rules for British citizen

I think I read somewhere on this board that if I took a form with me to Vegas I could be exempt from paying the taxes (or I could claim a refund?)

Do we have any other UK citizens who have been through this process that can guide me on how to be best prepared in case I get lucky?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

I don't know about a form but I had all the paper work done for me at the Mirage once. Didn't have to pay a cent of taxes. I'm not from the UK but the same tax treaty applies for Finland too.

In case you get lucky, make sure you don't let them hold anything. From what I've heard it can be a nightmare getting them back.

 

I'm from the UK, I've Been lucky enough to win 3 handpays on previous trips and I've never had to pay tax, after I won the 1st handpay in 2008, they filled out the paperwork and a few weeks later I received a itin number, I've known other Brits to not pay taxes either.

 

You can always claim a refund if you get a handpay but the problem with that is that you're out the money that the casino withholds, possibly for months. The best solution is to get an ITIN. From previous discussions on here, I know that people's experiences vary between casinos and, sometimes, in the same casino with different floor people. I got my first handpay last year at Aria and they asked me for my UK passport and straightened out the tax issues there and then. They paid me gross and a couple of months after I got home, I received my formal ITIN by post from the IRS. I believe it is possible to apply for one in advance, but it's not a straightforward process and I think you need to visit the US embassy.

I hope you do face the issue during your stay, because that would mean you won big!

Good luck

 

You may be lucky and the casino will do it all for you. The guidelines are now that they don't do it and you have to fill in a tax return to get it back. Once you have an ITIN there won't be any further problems. Just ensure you have the number and your passport on you at all times. My friend is still awaiting a refund from 2014! If you get a nice win then do your utmost to persuade them to take care of the paperwork there and then. A nice tip may help and it will probably depend on time of day and how busy they are. Some staff are definitely more helpful than others.

 

Thanks to all of your for the info! Since I don't have the time to get an ITIN up front I'm going to a) hope I get a handpay and if so then b) do my best to ask them to do the paperwork for me supported by a nice tip!

T-5 to go now (3 more days of work!!)

 

The only place that I know is not very helpful with tax is the Golden Nugget, couple of guys I know cashed there and they were extremely unhelpful when asked about filling out the tax forms for them so I would give them a bodyswerve.

 

To further support that British citizens do not pay taxes on slot jackpots,

There is a YouTube video online of a VegasFanatics dot com meet-and-greet playing various games in the high limit room at the Cosmopolitan.



They all pooled $500 each, but played all on a single Identity players card. The player's name was "Emma".

Long story short, they lost $500 on each game they've played. At the very end, the group did get one big hit on 10-line Triple Double Bonus at $5 denomination. One hand hit Quad Deuces with a 3 kicker for $10,000. It is revealed that "Emma" is from the UK and does not have to pay taxes, so she handled the paper work since her card was in the machine.

The pool did come out ahead with just that one video poker win, but if taxes had to be paid, they've probably would not have been ahead as much. I learned a lesson from that video, but I do not know of a folk from the UK.

 

It's not just the UK, here's a complete list of countries that have a tax treaty with the US and therefore no taxes on gambling winnings:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

 

Thanks for all your insights guys - this is all very useful I know where I stand wish me luck! I'll let you all know if I get a handpay!!

 

I can't believe Canada is not on this list. We can file to get it back but our losses have to cover it and it took about 16 months to get back after we filed for our 2014 wins.

 

I think that's because so many Canadians live in the US, it would be easier to scam the system. I think. 16 months is a joke though.

 

I think I heard it was all non resident filings. Looks like this year is bad as well.

 

oh yeah, and in Canada gambling and lottery wins are tax free.

 

5 trips and never had a hand pay, even although we often play $5 and $10 machines. Need to put that right in the next few weeks!

Do you need to have ID and if so is a UK driving license enough?

 

Tough luck on the HP's

Driving licence and your iTIN number are good as I found out at the Luxor this Jan, though if youve never had a HP it's unlikely you'll have your iTIN yet not sure about all the hotels but would think most of the strip casino's would do the paperwork for you
be sure to remind them your a Brit and dont pay taxes

 

Thanks.