If you win a truly major jackpot in Canada and you DO manage to get past the
Customs agents with it, you've got another problem. Remember that any cash
transactions over 10K in the USA are recorded and reported.
The one thing that puzzles me about Canadian casino advertising is the huge
billboards splattered all around the Detroit freeway system ballyhooing
tax-free jackpots. Seems to me that these are also advertising how easy it is to
break USA laws by winning large amounts of cash and then not claiming the income.
You'd think there would be some rule about billboard messages urging people
to break the law.
- Brian in MI
Not exactly tax-free. If you come across the border with more than
10K in your pocket and don't declare it you are breaking US law. I
was stopped going into Canada from Detroit with a friend. I was
detained while my rental car was searched by drug and cash sniffing
dogs. All this because I showed a Nevada DL at Canadian border going
into Windsor. There are signs all over the casinos there suggesting
to Americans to break the law and not declare your taxable winnings
going back to US. They don't say those specific words but imply that.
So do what you want and don't declare if you win over $10K. I guess
you could take a check and get blasted on the exchange from Canadian
to US dollars.
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