If you want to reclaim withholding taxes on income out of Switzerland (Verrechnungssteuer) – such as taxes on dividends or interest payments, you will need to file a request for refund with the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (SFTA). For such a request, you could be asked to provide proof that the taxes have been paid. To provide proof, you might need a Swiss Tax Voucher and/or a dividend note.
| Important notice: We cannot provide advice about or assist with the tax reclaims since we are an Execution-Only broker. Our clients bear full and sole responsibility for managing their own application. If you need help with this, please consult your own tax advisor. Any refund will be the decision of the SFTA and the Swiss authorities. |
What is a Swiss Tax Voucher?
A Swiss Tax Voucher is a document that confirms that a non-Swiss bank has paid what’s known as the “Verrechnungssteuer” to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (SFTA). Verrechnungssteuer is the Swiss federal withholding tax (WHT) on dividend and interest income sourced in Switzerland. This must be withheld at source and is directly deducted from the gross amount paid to the recipient.
Please be aware that tax vouchers alone do not grant the right to reimbursement. Whether reimbursement will take place is a decision made by the SFTA.
How the “Verrechnungssteuer” is paid?
The “Verrechnungssteuer” must be withheld at source and is directly deducted from the gross amount paid to the recipient. A 35% of WHT is levied on dividend and interest income derived from Swiss sources.
Can you assist in reclaiming the "Verrechnungssteuer"?
We are an Execution Only broker, so we can't help or advise you with the filing or administration of the application. The application must be accurately completed by the beneficial owner (i.e., the recipient of the income) as prescribed by the SFTA.
However, we do aim to help by providing you on a best-effort basis with any information you might need for your application, such as the Tax Voucher and/or dividend note for the relevant dividend event. We follow the instructions of the SFTA for non-Swiss financial institutions in the preparation of these documents, but we cannot guarantee that the SFTA will always accept and process the documents.
How can I file a claim for a WHT refund?
To find out how filing a claim for a WHT refund works, please consult the website of the SFTA. There, you’ll find the rules for the refund procedures, the necessary forms to fill out for both Swiss tax residents and non-Swiss tax residents, and more.