The WSOP is over and all that is left is for the winners to give their share of their winnings to the Tax Man.
An annual tradition, Russ Fox from Taxable Talk crunched the numbers and estimated what each player at the final table would have likely paid in tax.
Our new champion Jonathan Tamayo from Texas won an advertised prize of $10 million but after tax will have won just over $6 million, which is essentially second-place money.
Jason Sagle of Canada, Niklas Astedt of Sweden and Malo Latinos of France all come from countries where poker winnings are not taxed, but all have to a portion withheld by the US Inland Revenue Service, which may be claimable back.
As is always the case, there ends up being a player who takes home more than a player who finished after them. This year that player is Boris Angelov of Bulgaria who gets to keep 90% of his $2,500,000 win which is more than Jason Sagle of Canada will, despite the fact that Sagle finished one place ahead of him. This is because Bulgaria has a tax treaty with the US that does not withhold winnings, meaning he only pays a 10% income tax.
The biggest loser, from a tax perspective, is Andres Gonzalez of Spain who is likely to lose half of his $2 million prize to tax. He could be on the hook for a 47% income tax rate on his winnings.
In total $11,463,384 of the $31,250,000 final table prize money will be taxed, with $8,576,384 going to the IRS in the United States.
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize before tax | Prize after tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Tamayo | United States | $10,000,000 | $6,007,698 |
| 2 | Jordan Griff | United States | $6,000,000 | $3,492,192 |
| 3 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | $4,000,000 | $2,600,000 |
| 4 | Jason Sagle | Canada | $3,000,000 | $2,100,000 |
| 5 | Boris Angelov | Bulgaria | $2,500,000 | $2,250,000 |
| 6 | Andres Gonzalez | Spain | $2,000,000 | $1,060,000 |
| 7 | Brian Kim | United States | $1,500,000 | $908,874 |
| 8 | Joe Serock | United States | $1,250,000 | $758,909 |
| 9 | Malo Latinois | France | $1,000,000 | $608,943 |
Did any of these amounts shock you? Let us know in the comments: