Withholding tax on dividends

[Philippe]

I am a Swiss citizen and resident in Switzerland. I have been managing my securities portfolio with DEGIRO for 1 year (after leaving SWISSQUOTE to find more attractive fees). I received dividends on shares on which a 30% withholding tax was deducted.
I have several questions:
- Are there any Swiss-Holland agreements that allow you to recover all or part of the withholding tax collected ?
- If not, do I risk double taxation in Switzerland or is it sufficient for me to declare the withholding tax when I file my tax declaration ?

Hi everyone and thanks in advance for your comments

 

[Baptiste Wicht]

Hi Philippe

Unfortunately, not that I know of. If you are using DEGIRO, I think you are stuck with 30% withholding. I am guessing that these are US stocks. In this case, you can still reclaim them. If it was for a UCITS ETF, they would be lost.

The dividends will be taxed as income in Switzerland, but you have to declare them anyway. Normally, you should be able to reclaim the withholding in your tax declaration.

 

[Philippe]

Thank you Baptiste for your prompt answer

It was not an ETF, a german stock (Allianz)

I will wait for the next tax return to see the reaction of the tax authorities, but I am considering using a platform in Switzerland for dividend stocks, but I do not want to return to Swissquote. Is there a more competitive platform to recommend?

 

[Baptiste Wicht]

30% for German stocks seems weird, I was thinking it should be something like 26.3%. Switching to a Swiss broker is unlikely to help in that regard. In both cases, you may get WHT and then get a refund.

Saxo is cheaper than Swissquote

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