Dividend withholding tax
A foreign dividend is taxed twice: the source country takes its share first, and Belgium then applies its 30% to what arrived — not to the gross figure announced. The order changes the answer, and it is the one people most often reverse.
Result
- Gross dividend
- €1,000.00
- Withheld at source (United States, 15%)
- €150.00
- Belgian taxable base
- €850.00
- Belgian withholding tax (30%)
- €255.00
What becomes of the dividend
- You59.5%€595.00
- Foreign treasury15%€150.00
- Belgian treasury25.5%€255.00
In total, 40.5% of the gross dividend never reaches you.
Who declares what
This broker does not withhold the Belgian tax: the dividend belongs in your annual return. It issues no Belgian tax certificate: the amounts have to be reconstructed from your statements.
- Already withheld
- €0.00
- Still owed
- €255.00
- Recoverable through the return
- €0.00
- Exempt without a reclaim
- €833.00
- To declare in code 1444
- €141.95
- What the first band is worth
- €249.90
No Belgian tax was withheld here, so there is nothing to reclaim — but the first €833.00 is exempt all the same: you leave it out of the return and declare only the surplus. That exemption is worth €249.90.
The link carries your figures: opened anywhere else, it shows exactly the same result.
How this number is reached
The source country withholds first, at the treaty rate when the relief formalities are in order and at its domestic rate otherwise. What remains is the base Belgium charges its 30% on. The net received is the gross less both withholdings. The first-band recovery is computed by the tax engine and can never exceed the tax actually withheld: there is nothing to recover from tax nobody took.
The withholding rates come from the site's configuration and have not been checked against the double-taxation treaties themselves; treat them as indicative. The Belgian 30% and the recoverable band follow DOMAIN.md, the latter still to be confirmed for its indexed amount and return code.
Frequently asked questions
Is a foreign dividend taxed twice?
Yes, but not 15% plus 30% on the same amount. The source country takes its share of the gross; Belgium then applies 30% to what arrived. On a €100 US dividend that is €15 and then €25.50, leaving €59.50.
What is the W-8BEN form for?
It certifies your Belgian tax residence to the US authorities and takes the American withholding from 30% down to 15%. Most brokers have it signed once when the account opens and renew it every three years.
What can the annual return recover?
The withholding tax taken on a first band of dividends can be recovered through the annual return. The recovery is of tax actually withheld: if your broker withheld nothing, there is nothing to recover and the tax is still due.
Why does DEGIRO withhold nothing?
DEGIRO does not withhold the Belgian dividend tax and issues no Belgian tax certificate: its clients declare their dividends themselves, reconstructing the amounts from their statements.
Where do the foreign withholding rates come from?
From a configuration table reviewed like the rest of the site, but not checked against the treaty texts. It is indicative, and a country missing from it is flagged as such rather than treated as free of withholding.
Read more
- Foreign dividends: the US 30%, the W-8BEN, and the Belgian 30% on top
A US or French dividend is taxed twice: once at source abroad, then again at 30% in Belgium. A W-8BEN cuts the US rate from 30% to 15%, and a recent decision restored a credit on French dividends.
- Dividend withholding tax at 30%, and the reclaimable first tranche
Belgian dividend withholding tax is 30%. Part of the first tranche of dividends can be reclaimed through the tax return — and some brokers withhold nothing at all.
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