Dividend withholding tax by country: calculator and rates

What withholding tax at source is

When a company pays a dividend to an investor living in another country, the company's country takes a tax before the money leaves: that is withholding tax at source. You do not pay it separately or file anything for it to happen; it arrives already deducted. Your statement usually shows the gross dividend, a withholding line and what you keep.

The tax is applied by the company's country (or the fund's country, as you will see with ETFs), not yours. In practice the custody chain does it: your broker or its custodian withholds on behalf of the source country, using the residence details you gave when you opened the account.

US dividends: the W-8BEN and treaty rates

The US withholds 30% from non-residents by default. If your country has a double taxation treaty with the US and you signed a W-8BEN form with your broker (declaring your tax residence), the reduced treaty rate applies. These are the portfolio dividend rates the calculator uses, as of October 2026:

• United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Australia: 15%.
• Japan, Mexico: 10%.
• India: 25%.
• Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Colombia: no treaty with the US, so 30% stays even with a W-8BEN.
• US residents: 0% at source; they are taxed on their own return.

Example: US$1,000 gross depending on where you live

A Japanese resident and a Singapore resident end up US$200 apart on every US$1,000 of dividends, every year. If you reinvest what you receive, that gap compounds too: you can measure it with the compound interest calculator.

Stocks from other countries and ADRs

For a non-US stock, the company's country sets the withholding. That also applies to ADRs: an ADR of a Japanese company listed in New York carries Japanese withholding, not the US 30%. Some of the general (no treaty) rates the calculator uses: United Kingdom 0%, Japan 15.315%, Canada 25%, Germany 26.375%, Switzerland 35%.

Countries that apply the treaty at source

With the usual brokers, Canada, Japan and Australia tend to apply the treaty rate directly when your residence is declared. That is why, for a UK resident, the calculator shows 15% on a Canadian stock instead of the general 25%.

Countries where you reclaim later

In Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain or Italy, the broker usually withholds the full statutory rate, and the part the treaty would save you is recovered later by filing a reclaim with that country's tax authority. So the calculator shows the statutory rate: it is what you will normally see on your statement. Whether a reclaim is worth it depends on the amount, the paperwork and whether your broker offers a service for it; for small amounts it often is not practical.

ETFs: the fund's domicile is what counts

With an ETF, what matters most is not which stocks it holds but where the fund is domiciled, because the payment you receive comes from the fund, not from the companies.

• US-domiciled ETF: its distribution is treated as a US dividend and is withheld according to your residence (15% UK, 10% Japan, 30% Singapore, and so on).
• ETF domiciled outside the US (UCITS, e.g. Ireland): it generally pays distributions to non-resident investors without withholding, so the calculator shows 0%.

The share class matters too. A distributing ETF pays you the dividends (and that is where you see any withholding). An accumulating ETF reinvests them inside the fund: you receive no payments, so there is no withholding on your statement, although the fund-level withholding still exists.

If you live in the European Union, many brokers do not let retail clients buy US-domiciled ETFs, because those funds do not publish the key information document that EU rules require. That is why UCITS funds are the common choice there.

Withholding is not your final tax

Withholding at source is what the company's country collects. Your country of residence may tax the same dividend separately under its own rules. Many countries let you offset what was already withheld abroad (a foreign tax credit or double taxation relief), usually with a cap and sometimes only up to the treaty rate. The rules vary widely between countries: check your local rules or ask a tax advisor.

Why your broker may withhold a different rate

• Your W-8BEN is missing or expired, or the residence on file at the broker does not match your actual tax residence.
• The broker applies its default rate: some do not process treaty relief at source for certain countries and withhold the statutory rate.
• Some special cases: certain companies with their own tax regime, or payments that are not ordinary dividends (a return of capital, for example), can carry a different withholding or none.
• The treaty changed: treaties are signed, amended and terminated. The rates on this page are as of October 2026; confirm the current one with your broker.

Unexpected withholding is also part of why the return your broker shows can differ from the one you calculate; we cover that in why your broker shows a different return.

How Asterholm uses these rates

The calculator uses the same tables as the app. Inside Asterholm, however, the withholding observed in your own statements always takes precedence: if you have already been paid a dividend on that position, the real rate (withholding divided by gross) is used. The table estimate only applies to what you have not been paid yet, such as upcoming dividends, and it uses the tax residence country you set in your profile (Settings, Profile).

Whether there is an observed rate depends on what each broker reports. Interactive Brokers sends withholding as its own entry under Cash Transactions (IBKR guide). Trading 212 dividends are recorded at the net amount you received, so the withholding has to be checked in the broker's own app (Trading 212 guide).

Frequently asked questions