Withholding Tax
How are withholding taxes on dividends and interest processed?
Income from securities is credited net of applicable statutory withholding taxes without taking into account any relevant double taxation agreement. An exception exists for securities income from US source (see last paragraph below).
How can I reclaim withholding tax on securities income deducted by foreign jurisdictions?
If a double taxation agreement exists, the first portion (usually 15% for dividends and 10% for interest) can, in principle, be credited against the income tax liability in the country of residence (so-called "lump-sum tax credit"). Normally, this requires a tax declaration in the country of residence. The remaining portion generally has to be reclaimed from the tax authorities in the country of investment (except for dividends from US securities -> see the last paragraph below).
The bank does not currently offer any services relating to the reduction of withholding taxes or tax reclaims. Customers are therefore advised to consult a tax advisor, should they deem it appropriate to do so.
How are withholding taxes on dividends from US securities accounted for and how can they be reclaimed?
For customers residing in Switzerland only:
Starting 08 January 2022 (relevant is the ex-date), Saxo Bank Schweiz offers its Swiss resident clients US relief at source (US RaS) by applying the double taxation treaty between Switzerland and the United States of America. The US withholding tax deducted from dividends will include the "additional withholding tax USA" of 15%. In addition to the "lump-sum tax credit" of 15% on dividends from US securities, US RaS operates by giving the client the possibility to reclaim this additional withholding tax of 15% from the Swiss Federal Tax Authorities when submitting the tax returns for the purposes of Swiss taxes. The US withholding tax deducted from interest payments is not in scope for this benefit.
In order to benefit from the US RaS (relevant is the ex-date):
- Swiss resident individual clients with Swiss Nationality are automatically enabled for the service.
- Swiss resident individual clients who are not Swiss nationals require a valid W8BEN Form and must submit a case via the trading platform.
- Swiss Corporate clients require a valid W8BEN-E Form and must submit a case via the trading platform.
Without valid documentation, the client account will be subject to the default US withholding tax of up to 30%.