Over the last decade or so, there has been a huge evolution in the online casino industry. With an increase in secure and legal online casino sites, online gambling is something that has become very popular in India. According to recent studies, around 40% of Indians take part in some type of gambling. Therefore, with millions of Indians playing at online casinos, there is sure to be a good amount of revenue generated for the Indian government in the shape of taxes. Any income made from gambling at online casinos is fully taxable.
Income Tax Rates for Online Casinos in India
Winnings accrued from online casinos have a flat taxation rate of 30%, not including cess. Once cess has been applied, the net rate amounts to 31.2%, not including benefits of exemptions. The cess is 4% and it is a surcharge for education and health that is imposed by the government.
"It is the responsibility of the player to declare and pay taxes on their gambling winnings since the online casinos do not deduct it themselves".
It is the responsibility of the player to declare and pay taxes on their gambling winnings since the online casinos do not deduct it themselves. However, as you can imagine, there are many Indians who just ignore paying taxes on the winnings that they make when gambling. They do not understand why the government should benefit from their gambling luck.
The income that you receive from gambling at online casinos or bookies can be found on the yearly tax report form under the sub-heading of "Income from Other Sources". The specific rules regarding gambling taxation can be found in section 115BB of India's Income Tax Act - this includes winnings that are earned from gambling, betting, card games, and other sources that are similar.
At the end of each tax year, Indian gamblers are required to fill in the Income Tax Return form with the amount of money that they have won playing at casinos or betting on sports at bookmakers.
Heavier Tax for Larger Winnings
In addition to the aforementioned tax, there are a number of surcharges that apply depending on how much you have won. For instance, if your winnings go beyond 50 Lakh, there will be a surcharge of 10% added onto the normal rate. Therefore, in this case, the tax percentage, including cess, goes from 31.2% to 34.32%.
If you get really lucky and land winnings of 1 Crore or more, there will be a 15% surcharge on the normal rate. Thus, in this scenario, the tax percentage, including cess, will increase to 35.93%.
Tax Tips for Indian Online Casino Players
When you fill in your Income Tax Returns form at the end of the year, you must disclose exactly how much money you won throughout the year courtesy of gambling. There are many players who do not bother to declare their winnings because they do not think that it is worth it as they do not believe they will ever get caught.
However, we recommend that you do not do this and that you are honest when filling in your tax returns because if you do end up getting caught not paying the necessary taxes or lying about the amount that you won on the income tax form, the fines that you could be subjected to will be a lot higher than
