Standard refund - eligibility, documentation, deadlines - Luxembourg equities
Who can apply for a standard refund?
A reclaim of the relevant amount of withholding tax is available if the beneficial owner is entitled to a reduced rate of withholding tax lower than 15% in accordance with the Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) between its country of residence and Luxembourg. The maximum rate of withholding tax is defined in the relevant DTT.
Relief at source from withholding tax on dividends is not available through Clearstream Banking.
Residents of Luxembourg cannot reclaim withholding tax through Clearstream Banking.
| Eligible beneficial owners | Effective rate of tax after refund a | Tax refund available a |
Residents of DTT countries | Tax treaty rate or 15%, whichever is lower | 15% minus the tax treaty rate b |
a. Expressed as a percentage of the gross dividend amount.
b. Amount of relief will be 0% if the DTT rate exceeds 15%.
Documentation requirements
For reclaims through Clearstream Banking of tax withheld on Luxembourg securities by or on behalf of eligible beneficial owners, documents must be completed and submitted in original as follows:
- Form 901bis - Claim for reduction or partial refund of withholding tax;
- Power of Attorney (PoA) for tax reclaim processes follow-up;
- Full chain of PoAs;
- Full chain of Credit Advices;
- Bank statement of the final beneficial owner;
- Letter of request to Clearstream Banking for reclaim of Luxembourg withholding tax.
The documentation requirements may change from time to time, depending on additional requirements of the Luxembourg Tax Authorities.
Form descriptions are presented in accordance with the procedures available for reclaim of withholding tax on income from Luxembourg equities.
Statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax
The dividend withholding tax reclaim must be filed with the Luxembourg Tax Authorities, in accordance with Article 153 of the Luxembourg tax legislation, no later than 31 December of the year following that on which the dividend was paid.
If the DTT between Luxembourg and the country of residence of the beneficial owner prescribes a deadline for filing reclaims that is different from that prescribed by domestic law, the deadline specified in the DTT shall prevail.
Clearstream deadline for standard refund applications
The deadline by which Clearstream Banking must receive the documentation for a standard refund application is at least two 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 a case, Clearstream Banking will apply an extra charge and accepts no responsibility for forms that have not reached the Luxembourg Tax Authorities by the date considered as being the statute of limitations deadline.
When are refunds received?
The estimated time for receiving a refund of withholding tax is at least one and a half years from the date of receipt by the Luxembourg Tax Authorities, although this can vary depending on when the application is filed and the complexity of the information supplied in the reclaim form.
Notes on tax reclaims
Customers warrant the completeness and accuracy of the information they supply to Clearstream Banking.
With respect to tax reclaims in general, customers are reminded that Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the tax authorities of the respective country. It is the customer's responsibility to determine any entitlement to a 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.