Hi guys, think this is the right place to post this!

Are there any taxes on winnings online in austria for playing on Pokerstars?

Is it legal?

Considering spending some time there in the not too distant future.

Cheers

There are no taxes to be paid, which may be a reason why many German Pros moved to Vienna.

Is it truly tax free ? Or is it a grey area in the legislation like it's the case in a lot of countries ?
A lot of the countries where poker winnings are taxable, it used to be tax free because poker was considered a game of luck. When people started to realise some players can make a regular income from it the legislation started to change...
Why would Germany tax poker players but not Austria when the 2 countries share so much of their culture ? Also Austria is ranked pretty high is terms of overall taxation rates so why don't they tax poker winnings ?

Alright no answer so I decided to contact a few austrian tax advisors. I got 3 answers from 3 different sources :

Hi 953757584922009!!

I am currently living in Vienna. I would like to contact you?Is any way? I cannot send you a private message.

Having lived in both countries I can assure you that there are a lot of differences, especially regarding administration and legislation. Also Austria is big regarding the area of "grey area". Just have a look at the history of live poker in Austria.

it is a grey area!
currently you don't have to fear anything when cashing out winnings but that could change in the future

Tax law is no grey area! It is very clear.

As far as tax law is concerned Austria is seemingly very straightforward and consequent, based on the prevailing consideration that poker is a game of luck. Grifters and all gaming companies have to pay taxes in Austria too. In Germany some politician and judges consider law more like chewing gum or like their personal whishlist. In the final stages - when the law and the correct application of law prevails - the same turncoats which made a career will say who cares about our stupid twaddle of yesterday.

Tax law in Austria and Germany is in its basic considerations based on the same source, science, jurisprudence, commentary etc. Only the wording is often different, but the meaning is as often as not the same.

Online playing is prohibited in both countries with certain exceptions. The law is also clear so far. No player will earn money with online playing in the long run. Only the gaming companies and perhaps some grifters earn money.

Volkshochschulkurs Englisch absolviert?

Assuming I earn around 400 bucks a month on average playing poker. Would I have to tell the tax office about it? Living in Germany -_-.

http://www.steuer-schutzbrief.de/grundfreibetrag.html

I have not seen any poker player who could seriously say in advance I will earn 400 bucks a month on average. If someone could win on his ride on the rollercoasters he would normally try to earn much more and if he couldn't he would normally lose much more. Nobody can predict his future winnings with a normal game of luck like poker. From a objective point of view, therefore, there can be no serious intent to realize a profit of 400 bucks a month on average. However, retrospetively considered there might be a few exceptional players who earned about 400 bucks a month on average. I would not advice them to inform the tax office.

Hello,

Im planning to come in Austria, is the situation still the same with the grey area?

No player have been paying taxes yet?

And also, to be tax resident do you have to live there more than 6 month a year like in some EU country?

Wow I have just seen this:

Postby leon11 » Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:47 pm

i just got a reply from the Austrian Ministry for Finance:

Dear Sir!

Income from a professional poker player is taxed in Austria by income
tax. The percentage depends on the amount you earn per year due to the
progressive tax system.

The first 10.000,- Euro are tax free.
Between 10.000,- and 25.000,- Euro the percentage is 38,33%
Between 25.000,- and 51.000,- Euro the percentage is 43, 59%
Above 51.000,- Euro the percentage is 50%

So e.g. you earn 57.000,- Euro
10.000,- are tax free
15.000,- have to be taxed with 38,33%
26.000,- have to be taxed with 43,59%
and 6.000,- have to be taxed with 50%

Yours faithfully,
Federal Ministry for Finance



this was my original email:

Hello,

I am a EU citizen and I am considering relocating to
Austria. I'd like to know if Austria taxes winnings
obtained from online poker by professional poker
players (poker being only income) . If so then what
are the percentages? Thank you

Germany and Austria have more or less the same tax law as far as winnings from Poker games are concerned. The jurisdiction might currently be a bit different and to a greater extent confusing, but the law basis is still almost the same and pretty easy. The main problem in both countries is still the question whether poker can be considered as a game of skill or as a game of luck.

https://translate.google.de/translat...tml&edit-text=

As long as the winnings result from a game of luck the winnings are tax free in both countries. Legal penalties because of the fact, that certain games of chance are forbidden in both contries are a different story.

As soon as the winnings result from a game of skill the winnings are subject to taxation in both countries. Under this consideration it does not really matter whether you earn the winnings as a professional or as recreational player. And you have to consider two additional taxes. The Trade Tax and the Value added Tax (VAT).

Please ask your tax advisor or your lawyer. You will not get a qualified answer here in this forum and after all the opinon of the tax authorities might be different (or very far-fetched without any legal basis - as you will see and understand in a couple of years).

Planning a relocation to Austria and trying to clarify the tax situation. The law seems straightforward (poker winnings are taxed as income), but it's been said that many German pros have moved to Vienna to avoid tax, so how do they do it without breaking Austrian law?

Example
Let's say that I play live mid/hi stakes games in the Viennese card rooms and end up making €50k in a year.

Is this income defined as winnings from a game of luck or a game of skill? Do I report it to the tax office or not? If this falls under the game-of-luck category, will this change if I repeat it several years in a row?

In Norway (where I come from), you can win up to 10,000 NOK (around €1000) in a hand of poker without taxing from it. But if you are clearly making a significant, steady income from poker, you are taxed according to your annual poker income, not on a per-hand basis. Does Austria have a similar rule?

Schaut so aus.
Der Thread ist auf jeden Fall im falschen Forum.

No it's not the right place for this.
This is for posts in German.
I would have written this in the section "Internet poker".

Der Thread ist mehr als 3 Jahre alt. Wenn in dieser Zeit einer der Moderatoren der Meinung gewesen wäre der Thread sei hier falsch, hätte er das vermutlich artikuliert.

Demzufolge kannst du davon ausgehen, der Thread ist hier richtig. Geht schließlich explizit um Poker in einem deutschsprachigen Land.

There’s no rule against posting English in the German subforum.

Danke für die ausführliche Erklärung.
Wahrscheinlich sollte ich vorher dazu sagen dass es meine Meinung war, aber für mich auch ziemlich logisch, dass in der deutsche Seite auf deutsch geschrieben wird.

Wählst Du AfD?

Im deutschen Forum darf deutsch geschrieben werden, das unterscheidet es von den englischsprachigen Foren

Bump for 5 austrian guys near scoop final table. So ugh they supposed to pay taxes or no?