Countries Exempt From US Tax on Gambling Winnings

On this page

1. What ‘exempt’ means for a foreign visitor’s gambling winnings
2. The IRS list of treaty countries in Publication 515
3. Hungary and Russia: exemptions no longer in operation
4. Why Canada is not on the exemption list
5. Why Mexico is not on the list either
6. Checking a country that is not named
7. Using the exemption at the casino
8. When 30% was withheld from a treaty-country resident anyway
9. Frequently Asked Questions

You won at a U.S. casino, the cage paid you by hand, and part of the win was held back. The rule behind that is 30% withholding on a non-resident’s gambling winnings. The next question is whether your country’s tax treaty changes it. Some treaties remove the U.S. tax. Canada’s does not. It lets a resident deduct losses against winnings instead. The list that counts is the IRS table in Publication 515, and this article explains which treaties exempt the winnings and which do not.

What ‘exempt’ means for a foreign visitor’s gambling winnings

U.S. law taxes a non-resident’s U.S. gambling winnings. A small group of U.S. income tax treaties override that rule for residents of the other treaty country. Treaty residence decides who qualifies. A passport or citizenship does not.

IRS Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities, gathers these treaty rules in one place. It names the countries whose residents’ gambling income the United States does not tax, and it flags treaty provisions that no longer operate. The IRS updates it as treaties change, so the edition for the tax year in question is the one that counts.

Without a treaty rule, the default applies. The Internal Revenue Code sets a 30% tax on a non-resident’s U.S. gambling winnings, which the casino collects by withholding. It later reports the payment and the tax withheld on Form 1042-S. A separate rule in IRC 871(j) leaves blackjack, baccarat, craps, roulette and big-6 wheel winnings untaxed for non-resident aliens, with or without a treaty. More on the default rate: why casinos withhold 30 percent.

The IRS list of treaty countries in Publication 515

The 2026 edition of Publication 515 names 25 countries whose residents’ U.S. gambling income is not taxable by the United States. Malta appears separately. Its residents’ winnings stay taxable, but at a reduced 10% rate instead of 30%. The table sorts each country by how the publication treats it.

“Not taxable” here means the treaty gives the right to tax gambling income to the country of residence, and the United States keeps no share. A German citizen who lives in Canada is generally a Canadian resident under the treaty rules, so the tax treaty between Canada and the U.S. applies to that person, not the German one. A country that is absent from the list, such as Canada, Mexico or Australia, gets no gambling exemption, and the default 30% withholding applies. Since table game winnings are untaxed for all non-resident aliens, the list matters most for slots, keno, bingo and similar wins. For a closer look at one listed country, see how the UK-US treaty differs from Canada’s.

Hungary and Russia: exemptions no longer in operation

Publication 515 still names Hungary and Russia, but only to say that their gambling provisions no longer operate. Both treaties once exempted gambling winnings from U.S. tax. For residents of Hungary, winnings are taxable and subject to 30% withholding as of January 1, 2024. For residents of Russia, the same applies as of August 16, 2024. A win paid on or after the date for that country falls under the general rule.

Many guides and forum posts were written before these dates and still list both countries as exempt. Those lists are out of date, so the current edition of Publication 515 is the source to check. Outside Canada, gambling losses generally cannot be deducted except against winnings from the same session. The general process is in how non-residents reclaim withheld winnings.

Why Canada is not on the exemption list

The countries on the Publication 515 list have treaties that give the right to tax gambling income only to the country where the winner lives. Canada’s treaty has an “other income” article, Article XXII, but its first paragraph ends with an exception, and that exception is why Canada does not appear on the list.

Article XXII(1) says that income not dealt with in the earlier articles “shall be taxable only in that State, except that if such income arises in the other Contracting State it may also be taxed in that other State.” No earlier article covers gambling winnings, and a win paid by a U.S. casino arises in the United States, so the United States keeps its right to tax it. For a Canadian resident, the treaty does not switch off U.S. tax on U.S. winnings, and the default 30% withholding stays in place.

What the tax treaty between Canada and the U.S. does give Canadian residents is a deduction for losses. Article XXII(3) works against winnings rather than as an exemption. The site covers it in what Article XXII(3) allows, including the limits that apply for recent tax years.

Why Mexico is not on the list either

Mexico has an income tax treaty with the United States, so it is easy to assume it covers casino winnings the way some European treaties do. It does not. The U.S.-Mexico treaty has no article written for gambling. Winnings fall under its catch-all “Other Income” article, which says income arising in the other country may be taxed in that other country. A jackpot won in Nevada arises in the United States, so the United States keeps its right to tax it.

A Mexican resident is therefore treated like any other non-resident without a treaty rule, and the 30% withholding applies to taxable winnings. Unlike the Canadian treaty, the Mexican treaty has no loss deduction, so under the general rule losses can be deducted only against winnings from the same session. One U.S. law rule still helps every non-resident visitor. Winnings from blackjack, baccarat, craps, roulette and the big-6 wheel are not taxed under IRC 871(j). The article on why table games are not withheld like slots explains the split.

Checking a country that is not named

The IRS keeps a page called United States Income Tax Treaties - A to Z, which lists every country that has an income tax treaty with the United States. If a country is not on it, there is no treaty, and the default 30% rule applies.

A treaty existing is a separate question from a treaty exempting gambling winnings. Many treaties say nothing specific about gambling, and others, like Canada’s and Mexico’s, let the country where the income arises tax it. Publication 515 is where the IRS sets out which treaties it treats as exempting gambling income. A country that has a treaty but is not on that list does not get the exemption. Readers can see how this works for Australian visitors, whose country has a treaty but no gambling exemption.

Using the exemption at the casino

A resident of a treaty country can give the casino a Form W-8BEN before payout, claiming the treaty exemption and showing a tax identification number. The casino can then rely on it instead of the default rate. Without a valid form on file, the cage usually withholds 30% on a hand-paid win. Casinos handle these forms in their own way, so whether a particular cage accepts one on the spot depends on that casino.

This route is open only where a treaty actually exempts gambling income. A Canadian resident is in a different position, because the tax treaty between Canada and the U.S. leaves U.S. winnings taxable, so a W-8BEN at the cage does not remove the withholding. What the form does and does not do for Canadians is covered in W-8BEN for casino winnings: what it does for Canadians.

When 30% was withheld from a treaty-country resident anyway

If the casino withheld 30% from a resident of an exempt country, the treaty still applies to that income. The tax can be recovered after the year ends through a U.S. non-resident return, with the withheld amount credited against the tax shown. The record behind the claim is the Form 1042-S the casino issues after year end, not the payout receipt from the day of the win. More on reading the form is in What Is IRS Form 1042-S?

A claim like this usually needs an ITIN. Do you need an ITIN for a casino tax refund? explains who does. The IRS reviews the claim and decides it, and the time limits for a given tax year are checked case by case. U.S. Tax Recovery prepares and files these claims for you. It is an IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent, listed on the IRS’s Acceptance Agents directory for Canada, and is not affiliated with the IRS.

Frequently Asked Questions