Would you be self employed or technically unemployed? And what tax implications are there? Everyone is welcome to share the laws of their countries so we're all collectively smarter in this little discussed area. Cheers

If you are paying taxes it is very hard to make a living playing poker.

No tax on gambling winnings in the UK. You don't need to do self assessment if all your earnings are gambling.

In the UK, poker is legally treated as a form of gambling, but it is the sites and casinos that are taxed/regulated, not the players. In effect, all UK players (whether they are profitable or not) are doing it 'recreationally' and don't have to pay any additional tax on their winnings. They are "customers" of the gambling companies, not employees or self-employed entrepreneurs.

I suppose you can call it your profession if you're printing loads of money, but I think the bulk of UK grinders either have a "proper" job as well, or they are students, or they are supplementing their dole money with a bit of poker, while officially (according to the govt) they are unemployed, or retired. While there are rules on how much you can have in "savings" if you're trying to claim various welfare benefits, there is no requirement to declare precise winnings/profits from poker to the taxman.

I don't think you just walk in the UK these days; there is some time in the near past after (if you entered after it) you might be kicked out of the UK when they leave the EU. Nothing 100% clear yet perhaps, but I think it is there, as I have read about it. But they also talk about keeping their EU people to keep their medical, food, construction workers there w/o they would have serious problems. They have a point system like the other English language countries tend to have. Not sure if you can still enter w/o it, but to stay there might need to pass the point system later.

Ireland (not the north part) might get regulated soon if it already isn't, but they are a part of the EU. No taxes to be expected. If you don't have enough pension, you might have to keep working part time to get your housing paid, as I don't think it is covered, but not sure.

Scotland might join the EU after 5 years or so, perhaps, but it is not clear. Their live rake cap is £5 when it is €10+ in pretty much everywhere else but in the USA. Not so expensive a place either. Bad weather. If they will tax and regulate any time soon if they join the EU, is another thing. The whole Scotland idea is pretty much distant and a bit unclear to be taken into consideration at this time but if you go there with the point system.

The Netherlands might have been a reasonable alternative but they might already regulate while the tax issue isn't all clear to me but rates as tax-free. But still, sites can't offer their games here w/o buying a license and most sites might not buy it. But at least to me, this is still an open question waiting for developments. But I am not expecting a free world here at this time.

The Spanish tax man wants the EU people to pay taxes from their tourney winnings, but that should be pretty exceptional inside the EU and Italy (and the Netherlands partly) has tried a similar trick in the past and lost the cases. No taxes from the USA winnings for the UK players but it is a bit complicated (need to get the right papers, pay and then gets it back to one's bank later).

Someone mentioned the word/term "non-employed" when it comes to the poker pros in the UK. That should pretty much describe the situation.

In Finland, no taxes from the EU winnings. Not regulated (there are some talks sometimes but doesn't seem to be happening), so we can play just about anywhere but taxes from the non-EU winnings must be paid.

The EU countries are pretty much regulating these days and that can limit a lot where one can play. This, however, has not been a problem in the UK (nor at many other non-Mediterranean countries) and a lot of sites have got a license from there and it doesn't increase the rake up to any, though the VIP systems are pretty much gone these days, so there might be some costs.

Spain has a pretty good live poker scene but the online costs are more or less high, the player pools smaller at this time, and the poker winnings are taxed. Other than that, a good place in about every way; better than the rest of the Mediterranean countries (taxes also there but in Italy maybe after 5k only but who knows these days).

In the US, you report every penny you earn.

You pay taxes on poker winnings whether or not you're a "pro".

If you want to file poker income under schedule C (Self employment) my understanding is that the IRS makes you jump through multiple hoops to "prove" you're a pro.

Otherwise, you claim the sum of all winning sessions under *other income* and report the sum of all losing sessions (not to exceed wins) as an itemized deduction on schedule A. IRS Pub. 529 expressly prohibit report the net of wins-losses as income.

This is how it has been. I have yet to check out what, if anything, changes for reporting on 2018 after the recent tax reform legislation.

and to further Kurn's post.....

The notation about Schedule A is very important to an amateur (someone who's main source of income is NOT gambling).

If your main source of income yields less than the threshold amount to qualify you to use a Schedule A....... then you are stuck paying taxes on every winning session without the ability to deduct losing sessions. THAT is a nutshell should turn amateur US players away from the game......especially micro players.

Thank you for the additional details, since I've posting about this very thing for years and today decided not to belabor the point). If you are single and not paying mortgage interest (the basic threshold for itemizing), you essentially end up paying taxes on over $5,000 of phantom income (actually more now since the SD has increased significantly)

Without going into too much detail and derailing the thread, the above is not correct.

As a citizen of another EU country, you can just walk into the UK, at least until the end of the transition period on 12/31/2020. What happens after that will most likely depend on how long you've lived there. Right now it looks like everyone who moved there before the end of 2015 is safe and everybody else will have to apply to stay. But the odds of them kicking out people from other Western European countries are pretty slim unless there's reason for that on a case-by-case basis. People from newer (aka Eastern) EU countries might be in trouble though.

This is incredibly unlikely if you have been here a while you'll probably be ok and if you haven't been here that long but are working/ lots of other reasons you'll also almost definitely be ok.

As to answer OP you are unemployed. I would assume that poker roll falls under savings though and if you are claiming any benefits you would have to be careful about the savings amount that you have. If you are claiming jobseekers as a way of claiming other benefits too you need to be very careful with this savings amount.

Hypothetically speaking, say I was a US citizen and turned $500 into 5k one night playing 2/5 how would the taxman know about it? I suppose what I’m asking is does everyone literally declare everything in the US? How does the taxman check?

I’m in the UK and pay enough Tax on absolutely everything else so am really glad that poker is non considered taxable : )

Everyone in the US is legally obligated to accurately report all income. Failure to do so results in interest charges, penalties, and often prison time. Like all other violations of the law, they have to catch you, and no law enforcement system catches 100% of lawbreakers.

What actually happens in reality is, well, what happens in reality.

What people are supposed to do and what they actually do are often different. Not just with respect to taxes, but in all other aspects of life.