Quick refund - eligibility, documentation, deadlines - French equities (securities held in CBF)
Who can apply for a quick refund?
A quick refund of withholding tax on dividends from French equities is available to eligible beneficial owners if relief at source has not been obtained, as follows:
Eligible beneficial owners | Effective rate of tax | Tax refund |
Residents of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) countries | Tax treaty rate or 2.5%, whichever is lower | 25% minus |
Foreign individuals | Tax treaty rate or 12.8% whichever is lower | 12.8% minus the tax treaty rate |
Foreign CIVs | 0% or 15% when dividend of SIIC or SPICAV | 25% or 10% |
EU Parent Company | Tax treaty rate or 0% | 25% minus |
Not-for-profit organisations | 15% | 10% |
Foreign tax-exempt entities | 0% | 26.5% |
Particular foreign entities | Tax treaty rate or 28%, whichever is lower | 25% minus |
French residents (direct customers) | 0% | 25% |
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a. Expressed as a percentage of the gross dividend amount.
b. Amount of relief will be 0% if the DTT rate exceeds 25%.
Documentation requirements
There are different documentation requirements depending on the residence status and legal status of the beneficial owner, as follows:
Residents of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) countries
- Form 5000 Certificate of Residence;
- One-Time Certificate for French securities;
- Corporate action instruction, if applicable;
- Per-payment Detailed List of Beneficial Owners, if applicable;
- Power of Attorney, if applicable;
plus, if the beneficial owner is not a newly created investment scheme (other than foreign CIVs):
- A Form 5000 Attestation of Percentage (which, if the accounting period does not cover all the payments for which the relief is requested, must indicate the follow-up accounting period), signed by the beneficial owner, not by the fund’s local tax authorities;
or, if the beneficial owner is a newly created investment scheme (other than foreign CIVs):
- A first Form 5000 Attestation of Percentage with the first accounting period, with "Newly created fund" mentioned in Box II, signed by the beneficial owner, not by the fund’s local tax authorities; and
- A Letter (self declaration) stating the date of establishment of the newly created fund, duly completed and signed by the fund; and
- If the accounting period does not cover all the payments for which the relief is requested, a Form 5000 Attestation of Percentage indicating the follow-up accounting period, signed by the beneficial owner, not by the fund’s local tax authorities.
Foreign individuals
- Form 5000 Certificate of Residence or a Certificate of residence issued by the tax authorities of the country of residence of the foreign individual;
- One-Time Certificate for French securities;
- Corporate action instruction, if applicable;
- Per-payment Detailed List of Beneficial Owners, if applicable;
- Power of Attorney, when applicable.
Foreign CIVs
- One-Time Certificate for French securities;
- RPPM (revenus et profits du patrimoine mobilier) form;
- Corporate Action Instruction, if applicable;
- Per-payment Detailed List of Beneficial Owners, if applicable.
Foreign CIVs – Non-EU
- One-Time Certificate for French securities;
- RPPM (revenus et profits du patrimoine mobilier-Non-EU CIVs) form;
- Decision letter of the DINR;
- Corporate Action Instruction, if applicable;
- Per-payment Detailed List of Beneficial Owners, if applicable;
- Power of Attorney, when applicable.
EU parent companies
- Form 5000 - Certificate of Residence;
- Form 5001 - Calculation and repayment of withholding tax on dividends (must be printed on both sides, but only the details of the first page must be completed for the benefit of DTT);
- Self-certification for qualified European Parent Companies;
- Corporate action instruction, if applicable.
Not-for-profit organisations (except for U.S. residents - see below)
To qualify for relief as a not-for-profit organisation, a Not-for-Profit Organisations Certificate must be obtained by submitting the following documentation directly to the Direction des Impôts des Non-Résidents (DINR).
- Questionnaire;
- The founding documents of the beneficial owner’s organisation.
- A copy of the minutes of the General Assembly meetings and the budgets detailing the main revenue and expenditure items and, if the case arises, copies of the directors’ pay slips for the last three financial years.
- Other supporting documentation upon request (for example, proving the place of establishment of the organisation).
N.B.: Submission of the above-mentioned documents is only a precondition for obtaining the certificate. The DINR will decide whether or not to issue the certificate, based on their own review of the request. Clearstream Banking is not involved in this process.
When qualified, to obtain relief at source, the following documents must also be submitted to Clearstream Banking:
- Not-for-Profit Organisations Certificate;
- Corporate action instruction, if applicable.
Foreign exempt entities
- One-Time Certificate for French securities;
- One-Time Attestation Article 131 sexies
- Copy of the DLF Agreement letter (for 131 sexies II only)
- Corporate action instruction, if applicable.
Particular foreign entities
For all of the below entities:
- One-Time Certificate for French securities;
GBRs
- Form 5000 Certificate of Residence for each partner, with the partner's personal profession (not the status of the GBR) in the “profession” field;
- An original GBR attestation, under the letterhead of the GBR, signed by the legal representative of the GBR, confirming the percentage of the rights of each associate in the GBR and the regime of tax transparency from which the GBR benefits in its country of residence and corresponding to the data from the last general assembly. The document is required on an annual basis, issued after the last general assembly and should be valid for less than one year at pay date;
- A cover letter with the names of all the partners applying for the simplified procedure and certifying that these names are part of the relevant GBR;
- Per-payment Corporate Action Instruction,if applicable;
- Per-payment Detailed List of Beneficial Owners, if applicable.
GmbH & Co. KG, KG, OHR companies:
- That have opted for the corporate tax
- Form 5000 Certificate of Residence in the name and status of the company;
- An original attestation, confirming that the company has opted for the corporate tax;
- Per-payment Corporate Action Instruction, if applicable;
- That have opted for the income tax
- Form 5000 Certificate of Residence in the name of each partner, with the partner's personal profession in the field “profession”. A Form 5000 with the status of the company will be considered as not valid.
- An original attestation, confirming that the company has opted for the income tax;
- Per-payment Corporate Action Instruction, if applicable;
UCITSs (other than eligible foreign CIVs), pension funds, charities, foundations/associations, trusts, partnerships etc.
- Form 5000 Certificate of Residence;
- Form 5000 Attestation of fund (for investment schemes only);
- Per-payment Corporate Action Instruction, if applicable;
- Per-payment Detailed List of Beneficial Owners, if applicable.
U.S. residents
A certificate of residence, provided according to the status of the beneficial owner, as follows:
U.S. pension funds, not-for-profit organisations and U.S. RICs, REITs and REMICs:
- An IRS Form 6166 (mandatory), confirming the legal status and the Internal Revenue Code section to which it refers, as follows:
- U.S. pension funds: Status 401 (a), 401 (b), 403 (b) or 457;
- U.S. Non-profit organisations: Status 501 (c) 3;
- U.S. RICs, REITs and REMICs: the legal status of the final beneficiary and its tax ID in the U.S., if there is one.
- Form 5000 non-certified.
Other U.S. resident entities:
- A certificate of residence in one of the following forms (mandatory):
- An IRS Form 6166, duly completed and certified by the IRS, replacing the Form 5000 in this case; or
- A Form 5000 duly completed and certified by the U.S. intermediary in Box VI; or
- A Form 5000 duly completed and certified by the IRS in BOX IV.
The above-mentioned certificates of residence remain valid for the fiscal year only and must be provided annually.
Note: The original certificate of residence must, in all cases, be provided to Clearstream Banking at least one business day before the first dividend payment date to which it applies, by 09:00 CET. - Per-payment Corporate Action Instruction, if applicable;
- Per-payment Detailed List of Beneficial Owners, if applicable.
French residents (direct customers)
- One-Time Certificate - French customers
- Power of Attorney, when applicable;
Form descriptions are presented according to the procedures available for relief or reclaim of withholding tax on income from French equities.
Notes on the List of Beneficial Owners
When required, the list of beneficial owners must, in general, be received no later than 45 calendar days after the payment date.
Beneficial owner certification must provide the following details per beneficial owner:
- Full name;
- Address for tax purposes, including street address, postal code and country;
- Tax identification number (TIN), if any;
- Legal status of the beneficial owner;
- Quantity of the securities held;
- ISIN of the securities held.
Important note:
If the beneficial owner type used in this spreadsheet does not match the BO type used in the “Occupation” field of Form 5000, relief may not be granted and the payment may, as a consequence, be reversed.
It is recommended to avoid using “legal entity” and “Investment fund” status.
Beneficial Owner Lists must be supplied in the correct format. The list of beneficial owners must be uploaded online via the Clearstream Banking website, as follows:
- On the Clearstream Banking website, go to the Upload BO List page.
- Click on the hyperlink text “upload Beneficial Owner (BO) Lists”.
- Having entered your password successfully, select France from the dropdown market list.
- To download the required template for completion, click on the appropriate security type in the area labelled “B.O. List templates”.
- In the open spreadsheet file, enter off-line the details of one or more beneficial owners and their respective income payments.
- Save the completed file, in comma-delimited format (CSV), to a preferred location in your own file system.
When you have completed and saved the list, you must return to the BO List/France page and: - Click on the appropriate security type.
- Read and Accept the Acknowledgement and Legal Disclaimer text.
- Enter your upload details and then browse for and select for upload the CSV-format file that you saved in step 6 above.
- Verify the final details.
After verification, a reference number is assigned that you should record for tracking purposes. The full details of the upload can be printed at this point.
A confirmation email is also sent containing the basic details of the upload. (Confidential data is not sent in the email.)
Deadlines for receipt of documents
Documentation for quick refund of withholding tax on dividends from French equities through the simplified procedure must be received by Clearstream Banking by the following deadlines:
One-Time Certificates | At the latest, on record date minus one business day of the first dividend payment date to which it applies, by 09:00 CET. |
Form 5000 Certificate of Residence | |
Form 5000 Attestation of Percentage | |
Form 5001 Calculation of Withholding Tax on Dividendsa | |
Self-certification for qualified European Parent Companies | |
RPPM form and decision letter from DINR (non-EU CIV) | |
One-Time Attestation Article 131 sexies and DLF agreement letter | |
Non-Profit Organisations Certificate | |
GBR Attestation | |
GBR cover letter | |
Per-payment Detailed List of Beneficial Owners | Generally, at the latest 45 calendar days following the dividend payment date by 09:00 CET. |
Corporate Action Instruction | At the latest, by the 10th of the month (or if the 10th is not a business day, the first business day before the 10th) following the one when the payment took place. Customers may adjust the initial tax breakdown before this date and the last tax breakdown provided before above deadline will be considered as final and reported to the FTA. |
a. For EU parent companies (page 1 only).
Certification timeline for actions by Clearstream Banking customers:
Click on the image to view the diagram showing the timeline for actions by Clearstream Banking customers.
