Is my prize money taxed in the country where the tournament was held?
Usually it can be. The performance article in most treaties lets the country where you compete tax the income from competing there, and prize money and appearance fees are the clearest examples. That is why organisers deduct tax before paying out. Whether the deduction is the end of the matter depends on the country: some treat it as a final tax, others as a payment on account that a return then adjusts. So the practical question for a player is not whether the country may tax the win, but whether filing there would reduce what has already been taken.
Tournament withholding is taken before my expenses — can I claim them back?
In many countries yes, but only by filing a return there. The deduction at the event is normally applied to the gross prize or fee, which takes no account of the entry costs, the flights, the accommodation, the coaching or the equipment. Where the country allows a net-basis return, the tax is recomputed on what you actually earned from competing there and the excess is repaid. It is a claim rather than an automatic refund, and it has a deadline. For a player whose costs take a large share of the purse, the difference can be substantial.
I compete in many countries and file in one — is that a problem?
It is at least an incomplete picture, and it usually costs money in both directions. Filing only at home means the deductions taken at events abroad are never recomputed on a net basis, so expenses go unrelieved in the countries that would have allowed them. It can also mean income a country had a right to tax was never declared there. The useful first step is a season schedule: every event, the country, the dates, the gross received and the amount deducted. From that list it becomes clear which countries are worth filing in and which are not.
Which of my costs count as expenses of competing abroad?
The test in most systems is a connection between the cost and the income being taxed, so the cost of getting to and competing at that event is the strongest case: entry fees, flights, accommodation for the tournament, transport on the ground, stringing and equipment used there. Costs that support the whole season — a coach on a retainer, a physiotherapist, pre-season training — usually have to be apportioned rather than assigned to one country. Keep the evidence by event as the season runs. A shoebox reconciled in the winter loses the detail that makes an apportionment credible.
Is my appearance fee treated the same as prize money?
For the country where you play, usually yes: the performance article reaches income from appearing there, whether it is paid as a purse or as a fee for turning up. The differences show up elsewhere. An appearance fee is contracted in advance and often paid by a promoter with deduction obligations of its own, while prize money depends on the result and is paid by the event. Read each contract for who deducts, at what rate and against what paperwork, because the answer decides whether you can reduce the deduction rather than reclaim it afterwards.
Where do my sponsorship and equipment deals get taxed?
Part of it can be pulled into the countries where you compete, and part stays where you are resident. Where a sponsor pays you for appearing, for wearing a logo at an event, or for promotional days in a country, that part is connected with performing there. Where the payment is for the use of your name and likeness generally, it is easier to keep at home. An agreement that says only sponsorship invites an allocation you did not choose. Have it separate the appearance obligations from the rights granted, and keep a record of the days worked under each.
What counts as foreign income, and what is a foreign tax?
Foreign income is income sourced outside the country you are filing in — where the work was done, where the property sits, where the payer is resident, depending on the type. A foreign tax, for credit purposes, is a levy imposed by another country that functions as an income tax and that you were legally required to pay. Consumption taxes, property taxes and most social contributions are not, however real the cost. Sourcing is decided by rule, not by which bank received it. See the foreign tax credit.
Branch or subsidiary — which should we use to expand?
A branch keeps one taxpayer: results consolidate at home, losses are usable sooner, and the exposure is that the branch is a permanent establishment whose profit the host country taxes, sometimes with a branch tax on repatriation. A subsidiary is a separate taxpayer with limited liability and local rates, at the cost of withholding on dividends home and transfer pricing on everything between them. The deciding facts are usually expected losses, liability and exit plans. See branch against subsidiary.
