Yes, they can. American casinos withhold 30% of your winnings but Canadian residents can file for a potential gambling tax refund.

To recover your US gambling tax withholdings, you will need to file a US tax return. To file a US Non-Resident Tax Return (1040NR), you will need to provide us with:

• Your US gambling tax slips (Form 1042-S)
• Your individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) or Social Security Number (SSN). Please see our section below if you need to apply or re-apply for an ITIN
• A photo copy of your Canadian passport 
• Your Win/Loss Statement (if available)

If you don’t have an ITIN, we will apply for one for you in conjunction with filing your tax return. The ITIN application must be submitted at the same time as filing the tax return.

If your ITIN has not been used on a tax return in the past 3 tax years, your ITIN is expired. Therefore, if you did not file a 2021, 2022, or 2023 US tax return, your ITIN must be renewed.

Additionally, ITINs issued before 2013 have expired and must also be renewed, even if you file a U.S. tax return every year.

If you are unsure whether your ITIN is still active, please contact the IRS directly. The direct phone number from Canada is 267-941-1000.

Our office has a Certified Acceptance Agent (CAA) accredited by the IRS, meaning that we offer streamlined ITIN application assistance for your convenience. This allows our clients to avoid mailing their passport to the IRS (which takes months to receive it back in the mail) or avoid traveling to an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Office in the U.S.

Please note, for your ITIN application to be valid, your passport must be valid for a minimum of 6 months as of the date the completed tax return is sent to IRS.

In-Person ITIN Application

If you will be picking up your tax return from our office in-person and need to apply or re-apply for an ITIN, we require a photocopy of your passport at the time of filing. Once your tax return is complete, we will contact you to schedule an appointment with our Certifying Acceptance Agent in our office to verify your identity and finalize the ITIN process. You will also pick up and pay for your completed tax return at this appointment. Please bring your physical passport with you.

Remote ITIN Application

For clients that are not located nearby, we require an e-mailed copy of your passport at the time of starting your tax return. Once your tax return is complete, we will contact you and you will have two options to finalize your ITIN application:

Option 1: Mail us your original passport*. Once received, we will schedule a video appointment for you to meet with our Certifying Acceptance Agent, who will verify your identity to finalize the ITIN process. Your passport will be returned promptly after verification, along with your completed tax return once payment is received.

*Please do not mail us your passport until we inform you that your tax return is complete.

Option 2: If you prefer not to mail us your passport, you will need to visit an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center office in the U.S. so that they can validate your identity. The only other alternative is to use the services of a different Certifying Acceptance Agent in your area, but high fees often apply. Regardless of which option you choose, we will provide all necessary documentation for this visit. If you choose to visit the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center office, we recommend calling ahead to schedule an appointment once you receive the tax return package from us.

For more information regarding the IRS office, visit: www.irs.gov/help/contact-your-local-irs-office

Please note: The IRS requires that we have your physical passport in-hand for security purposes for any ITIN applications processed via our Certifying Acceptance Agent service. Therefore, mailing us your passport is mandatory for Option 1.

Yes! We assist clients across Canada in recovering their US Gambling Tax withholdings. Please send us an e-mail at info@cisincometax.ca or call us at 905-356-8106 and we can process your documents remotely. We collect payment through debit card, credit card, or e-transfer. Once your tax return is complete, we will mail you a physical copy.

IRS allows taxpayers to file retroactively for up to three previous years (determined based on the original due date) to claim a refund of their gambling tax withholdings.

Therefore, if the 1042-S slip is from 2021, the due date to file that year’s tax return would have been April 15, 2022, which means the latest that someone could file for a refund for that tax year is April 15, 2025 (three years later).

No. A US tax return must be filed for each individual year. The tax return follows a calendar year from January 1 to December 31 so only wins or losses during that timeframe can be combined. Any wins or losses from previous/subsequent years must be reported within that respective calendar year. This means that excess losses in one calendar year cannot be used in a previous/subsequent calendar year to offset any excess wins.

Under normal circumstances, it takes approximately 7-8 weeks. Unfortunately, the IRS estimates that the current processing time is a minimum of 6 months due to new examination processes that were implemented. Individuals can check the status of their tax refund by visiting the IRS website.

The refund will be mailed directly to you on a treasury cheque from the IRS (in USD).

Direct deposit is only available if you have a US bank account.

We’d be more than happy to assist in responding to any correspondence you receive from the IRS.

Assistance with general correspondence from the IRS (i.e. letters requesting clarification about 1042-S slips) is included in our fee for preparing your US tax return.

Assistance in responding to formal IRS audit inquiries is not included in our fee for preparing your US tax return. While IRS audits are rare, we’d be more than happy to assist with responding to this IRS audit inquiry for an additional fee. Due to the varying complexity and scope covered by IRS audits, our fee for assisting with IRS audits is based on the time we spend assisting you.

If your 1042-S slip does not have complete or accurate information (i.e. your ITIN is not listed on the slip, or your name as shown on the 1042-S slip does not match the name attached to your ITIN), the IRS may hold or reduce your refund accordingly. To resolve this, you need to contact the issuing casino/agency directly and have them update/amend the 1042-S slip to show this accurate information.

Once you receive this updated 1042-S slip, we would be more than happy to submit it for you to the IRS.

Please note, we cannot amend or alter 1042-S slips, this must be done directly by the issuing casino/agency. The casino/agency will not speak to us regarding amending slips either, this must be done directly by the taxpayer.