35% Swiss Dividend Tax?

sairy.gamp

Hello, I wonder if someone may be able to give me some advice. I have recently received within my S&S ISA a dividend paid to me by a company listed in Switzerland. The dividend has been paid me with the 35% Swiss dividend tax deducted at source. As the investment lies within my ISA, am I able in any way to reclaim any or all of the tax paid on my dividend from our own HMRC? i.e. do they have a reciprocal arrangement with Swiss authorities perhaps? Many thanks in advance.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

https://community.freetrade.io/t/isa-dividends-tax-swiss-35-tax-resolved/51065

wmb194

sairy.gamp said:

Hello, I wonder if someone may be able to give me some advice. I have recently received within my S&S ISA a dividend paid to me by a company listed in Switzerland. The dividend has been paid me with the 35% Swiss dividend tax deducted at source. As the investment lies within my ISA, am I able in any way to reclaim any or all of the tax paid on my dividend from our own HMRC? i.e. do they have a reciprocal arrangement with Swiss authorities perhaps? Many thanks in advance.

HMRC won't pay you anything so forget that. Outside of an Isa you would have been able to use the tax withheld at the UK-Switzerland double taxation treaty rate of 15% - this is the amount the Swiss can keep - to offset it against liabilities due on UK income. 

If you want to reclaim the balance you need to file a claim with the Swiss authorities. If you Google around you should be able to find the form and the requirements. In 2012 I reclaimed the over deduction from the Swiss federal tax administration for a dividend from Roche and IIRC I just needed to send the form plus stockbrokers' statements showing the holding and the entries related to the dividend and tax. I also had to convert the amounts into Swiss francs but it wasn't too hard. According to my notes it looks like I was paid about six weeks after I posted everything.

Things may have changed, though. Germany used to be just as straightforward but, the same as France, it recently began asking for a signed and stamped document from stockbrokers to confirm the receipt of the dividend and withholding of tax. Might be a bit of a pain with some of the discount brokers.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/switzerland-tax-treaties

https://www.orbitax.com/news/archive.php/Protocol-to-treaty-between-UK--1501