The increase in betting and online gaming – casino, roulette, cards… – translates into more tax obligations. The profits obtained from this must be included in the income tax return, but with differences regarding benefits of another nature such as the stock market or cryptocurrencies. Mainly that they go to the general personal income tax base, along with income such as salary, and not to the savings base. And since they have not had income withholding, their entire taxation is adjusted.
“There are prizes that are subject to withholding, such as the lottery. In these cases they generally do not have withholding and have to be declared,” says Carme Elena, speaker of the tax commission of the Official College of Administrative Managers of Catalonia.
Profits or losses from bets or games of chance go to the general base, in section “F1. Capital gains and losses that do not derive from the transfer of assets.” The winnings must be included in box 0282 of the declaration: Elena warns that in the case of bets “both the winnings obtained and the bonuses, which are understood as a profit, must be declared.” If they are losses, they go to box 0287. “Many times it is done by difference and only the profit is entered.” The result, the subtraction of the first and the second, is reflected in box 290.
Profits “are all taxed”, from the first euro, if they are workers obliged to present the declaration, the most repeated assumption. Elena points out that since these types of operations do not have withholding tax, the limits that require or exclude making the declaration do not apply. “It is true that there is a limit of 1,000 euros that excludes declaring, but everything is counted there, income from work and all the income you have. If you have salary income of 3,000 euros and 400 from gambling profits, you will have to declare because you exceed those 1,000.”
Gains from bets and games can be offset by losses, but with the limit of the balance remaining at zero. For example, if you have won 300 euros on one side and lost 500 on the other, your income will be 0, not -200. “You have to take into account what you have gained and subtract what you have lost, but the result can never be negative. It will remain at zero,” says Elena. Thus, at most all the profits obtained can be compensated.
Profits from betting and gaming are integrated into the general base, which has a state section and a regional section. For reference, it usually ranges from 19% to 47% when adding both, depending on the base.
This year, when they process their declaration, 164,000 taxpayers will find a notice informing them that the Tax Agency has information on gambling operations carried out. “Remember that you must record the capital gains or losses obtained in these operations,” the message reads. “The treasury is warning that it has to be declared, but in some cases the parallels come directly,” says Elena.
As a great tip, it is recommended to request the certificate of operations from the betting houses or platforms that have been used. “Many people did not declare it, but the Treasury has the power to go back four years. It can detect operations either by asking betting and gaming houses or by collecting the taxes that this activity has,” continues the expert. Clues that make evading the AEAT more difficult.
