Standard refund – eligibility, documentation, deadlines – Finnish equities (CBF)
Who can apply for a standard refund?
A standard refund of withholding tax on dividend payments from Finnish equities is available through Clearstream Banking for the following beneficial owners, if the required certification has not been provided within the relief at source or quick refund deadlines.
Beneficial owner type | Tax rate |
Non-treaty individuals (domestic law) | 30% |
Non-treaty corporations (domestic law) | 20% |
Residents of a double taxation treaty (DTT)
| DTT rate |
Tax exempt entities (domestic law)
| 0% |
Documentation requirements
In order to benefit from a standard refund of withholding tax on income from Finnish equities, clients must ensure that we receive the following documents. The templates of the documents are available on our Tax forms to use section.
To apply for a standard refund, you must submit to Clearstream Banking, in the original, the following per reclaim:
- Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for a Reclaim of Finnish withholding Tax; and
- Certificate of Residence or a copy of a Tax-at-source card (for individual applicants, VEROH 6164e can be certified by the local tax authorities instead of including a separate Certificate of Residence or Tax-at-source card);
- Power of Attorney (full chain);
- Credit Advice (full chain).
The following additional documentation must in addition be provided according to the specific beneficial owner type, as follows:
Beneficial owner type | Tax Rate | Documentation requirements |
Non-treaty individuals (domestic law) | 30% |
|
Non-treaty corporations (domestic law) | 20% |
|
Residents of a double taxation treaty (DTT)
| DTT rate |
|
Tax exempt entities (domestic law)
| 0% |
|
Statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax
The general statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax, applicable to reclaims submitted via standard refund procedures, is as follows:
Dividends paid | Statutory deadline |
Up to and including 31 December 2016 | Five years after the end of the year in which the income payment was made |
On or after 1 January 2017 | Three years after the end of the year in which the income payment was made |
Exception: The statutory deadline for Dutch beneficial owners reclaiming Finnish dividend withholding tax, is five years after the end of the year in which the dividend payment was made, instead of the general three years deadline, which is applicable for other beneficiaries.
The five-year deadline applies in respect to withholding tax levied since 1 January 2017.
Clearstream deadline for standard refund applications
The deadline by which Clearstream Banking must receive the documentation is at least four months before the statutory deadline. All standard refund applications received after this deadline will be processed by Clearstream Banking on a "best efforts" basis. However, in such cases, Clearstream Banking will apply an extra charge and accepts no responsibility for forms that have not reached the Finnish Authorities by the date considered as being the statute of limitations deadline.
When are refunds received?
The estimated time for receiving a refund can vary depending on the time that the application is filed and the complexity of the information supplied in the reclaim form. Clearstream Banking has collected information from sources considered reliable but does not guarantee the accuracy of the timings presented.
Standard refund
The estimated time for receiving a refund is six months from the date of receipt by the Finnish Tax Authorities, although this can vary depending on when the application is filed and the complexity of the information supplied in the reclaim form.
Note: The Finnish Tax Authorities will only process applications for a standard refund in the beginning of the year following the dividend payment.
Notes on tax reclaims
Clients warrant the completeness and accuracy of the information they supply to Clearstream Banking.
It is the client's responsibility to determine any entitlement to standard refund of tax withheld, to complete the forms required correctly and to calculate the amount due. Clearstream Banking is under no obligation to carry out any investigation in respect of such information.
With respect to tax reclaims in general, clients are reminded that Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the tax authorities of the respective country.