Foreign Dividend Withholding Tax: What You Actually Receive

In summary

Withholding tax is taken from a foreign dividend before it reaches your account. The rate depends on the company's country and on where you live.
US residents usually lose 15%. The United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong withhold nothing; Switzerland withholds 35% and Germany 26.375% until you claim a refund.
The tax is usually not lost: US investors can generally credit up to the treaty rate against their US tax, without Form 1116 if the foreign tax is $300 or less ($600 for a joint return).
Non-US investors pay 30% on US dividends, or their treaty rate (often 15%) with a valid W-8BEN.

Foreign dividend withholding tax is the tax a country takes out of a dividend before it leaves for an investor who lives somewhere else. The company declares $100, the country it is based in keeps a share, and your broker credits you with the rest.

How much is kept depends on two things: where the company is based and where you live. A US investor receives $85 of a $100 Canadian dividend, $100 of a British one, and $65 of a Swiss one until a refund claim is filed.

This guide gives the rates for 17 countries, explains how to get part of the tax back, and shows what it does to your yield. Rates were checked against official sources in October 2026.

Which case are you?

You live in	You own	What applies to you
The United States	Foreign stocks or ADRs	The country table below, then the foreign tax credit
Outside the United States, and not a US citizen or US tax resident	US stocks	US withholding of 30%, or less with a W-8BEN
Outside the United States, and not a US citizen or US tax resident	Stocks from a third country	The tax treaty between your country and the company's country

What counts is your tax status, not your address. A US citizen living abroad is still taxed as a US person, gives the broker a Form W-9 instead of a W-8BEN, and is in the first row.

Withholding tax rates by country

The default rate is what the country withholds from any non-resident. The treaty rate is the most it may keep from an individual who lives in the United States and holds ordinary listed shares.

Country	Default rate	Rate for US residents	How the lower rate is obtained
🇨🇦 Canada	25%	15%	Normally applied by the broker. Otherwise, refund on form NR7-R
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	0%	0%	Nothing withheld. REIT property distributions: 20% withheld, 15% by treaty
🇨🇭 Switzerland	35%	15%	35% is always withheld. Refund of 20% on Form 82 I, within 3 years
🇩🇪 Germany	26.375%	15%	26.375% is withheld. Refund of 11.375% from the BZSt, within 4 years
🇫🇷 France	12.8% for individuals by law, 25% often withheld through a foreign broker	15% ceiling, but the 12.8% rate for individuals is lower and applies	If more than 12.8% was withheld, the excess can be claimed back with Form 5000, by 31 December of the second year after payment. The French tax authority sets out the 12.8% rate
🇳🇱 Netherlands	15%	15%	Nothing to reclaim
🇮🇪 Ireland	25%	0%	US residents are exempt. For ADRs, a US address on the register is enough
🇪🇸 Spain	19%	15%	Refund of 4% on Modelo 210, within 4 years
🇮🇹 Italy	26%	15%	Refund of 11% from the Italian tax agency, within 48 months
🇩🇰 Denmark	27%	15%	Refund of 12% claimed online at skat.dk, within 5 years
🇸🇪 Sweden	30%	15%	At source through the paying agent, or refund on form SKV 3740
🇳🇴 Norway	25%	15%	At source with documentation, or refund on form RF-1552
🇯🇵 Japan	15.315%	10%	Treaty form filed through the paying agent
🇦🇺 Australia	0% franked, 30% unfranked	15% on unfranked	Franked dividends carry no withholding
🇸🇬 Singapore	0%	0%	Nothing withheld
🇭🇰 Hong Kong	0%	0%	Nothing withheld
🇧🇷 Brazil	10% since January 2026	10%	No treaty with the US, no refund

Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries for each country's rates, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration for Form 82 I, the German Federal Central Tax Office for German refunds, the French tax administration for Form 5000, and Globe Tax for what is withheld in practice.

Three things stand out in this table.

A treaty rate is a ceiling, not what always happens. Switzerland and Germany withhold the full rate from everyone and leave you to claim the difference back. Canada usually gets it right at the source.

Some countries take nothing. The United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong do not withhold tax on ordinary dividends. That is domestic law, not a treaty benefit, so it applies wherever you live.

Rates change. Brazil paid dividends free of withholding for decades and introduced a 10% tax on dividends sent abroad in January 2026. Denmark recently extended its refund deadline from 3 to 5 years.

If you live in the United States

The foreign tax credit

The tax withheld abroad is not lost. Your broker reports it in box 7 of Form 1099-DIV ("Foreign tax paid"), and you can subtract it from your US tax bill as a foreign tax credit.

Most investors can claim the credit without filing Form 1116. The IRS instructions for Form 1116 allow this when all three conditions are met:

all your foreign income is passive income, such as dividends and interest
all of it, and the tax paid on it, was reported to you on a statement such as Form 1099-DIV
your total foreign tax is not more than $300, or $600 if you are married filing jointly

Above those amounts you file Form 1116. The credit is then limited to the US tax due on your foreign income. What you cannot use can be carried back one year and forward ten years, according to IRS Topic 856.

Three limits to know

You can only credit the tax you legally owed. The IRS does not allow a credit for foreign tax that is "eligible for refund". On a Swiss dividend, 35% is withheld but only 15% counts as creditable. The other 20% has to come back from Switzerland, or it is gone.

The credit can only reduce US tax you actually owe. With the $300 or $600 election above, the credit is set against your US income tax as a whole, including the tax on your salary. It can therefore be used even when your qualified dividends themselves are taxed at 0%. If you file Form 1116 instead, the credit is limited to the US tax on your foreign income, so dividends taxed at 0% leave little or nothing to credit that year. If you owe no US income tax at all, the foreign withholding is a real cost. See how qualified dividends are taxed for the brackets.

There is a holding period. The tax is not creditable if you held the stock for fewer than 16 days within the 31-day period that begins 15 days before the ex-dividend date.

Foreign stocks in an IRA

An IRA pays no US tax on dividends, so there is nothing to credit the foreign tax against. Withholding inside an IRA is a permanent loss in most cases.

Canada is the main exception. The US-Canada treaty exempts dividends paid to retirement arrangements, and the Canada Revenue Agency's guide T4016 names IRAs specifically. The exemption is not automatic: the custodian has to document it. Ask your broker whether it applies the 0% rate in your account, especially for a Roth IRA or a 401(k).

More on this in dividends in retirement accounts.

If you live outside the United States

The United States withholds 30% of dividends paid to foreign investors. A tax treaty between your country and the US usually lowers that. The rate is 15% for residents of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France and Germany, and 10% for residents of Japan. The IRS publishes every rate in Table 1 of its tax treaty tables.

To get the treaty rate you give your broker a Form W-8BEN. A few facts from the IRS instructions:

It is for people who are not US citizens or US residents. A US person never files one.
It goes to your broker, not to the IRS. Most brokers have you fill it in when you open the account.
It stays valid until the last day of the third calendar year after you sign it. If it lapses, the rate goes back to 30%.

If your country has no income tax treaty with the US, the 30% stays. Singapore and Hong Kong are in that position.

Your own country then taxes the same dividend, and in most cases gives you credit for the US tax already paid. The rules for that credit are set by your tax authority, not by the US.

When too much was withheld

A refund claim follows the same pattern in every country: a form from the foreign tax authority, proof of where you live for tax purposes, and the dividend statement from your broker. Then you wait. The German tax office warns that processing can take more than 20 months.

Take 100 shares of a Swiss company paying CHF 5 per share:

	Amount
Dividend declared	CHF 500
Withheld by Switzerland (35%)	CHF 175
Paid into your account	CHF 325
Refund you can claim (20%)	CHF 100
Left as a foreign tax credit (15%)	CHF 75

CHF 100 a year is worth an hour of paperwork. CHF 12 is probably not. Since most countries give you three to five years, you can also wait and claim several years at once.

Tax reclaim firms will file for you and keep a share of the refund. That makes sense for large positions and rarely for small ones.

What this does to your yield

Three stocks, each with a 5% dividend yield, held by a US investor in a taxable account:

Stock	Withheld	Yield you receive
US company	0%	5.00%
Canadian company	15%	4.25%
Swiss company, before a refund	35%	3.25%
Swiss company, after a refund	15%	4.25%

The foreign tax credit can close the gap between 4.25% and 5.00% at tax time. It cannot close the gap between 3.25% and 4.25%. Only the refund claim does that.

Tracking what you actually receive

A forecast built on declared dividends will always be higher than what reaches your account.

In OnlyDividends you set a default tax rate once, then override it for each portfolio. The rate applies to the whole portfolio, not to each stock, so it helps to group holdings that are taxed the same way:

a portfolio for your IRA at 0%
a portfolio for foreign stocks at 15%
a portfolio for your US stocks at your own rate

The Calendar and Chart tabs and your payday notifications then show income after tax. The Portfolio tab keeps showing gross amounts, before tax. For the full calculation, see your real dividend income after taxes.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay US tax on foreign dividends?

Yes. A US resident reports the full dividend, before withholding, on their US return. The tax withheld abroad can then be claimed as a foreign tax credit, so the same income is not fully taxed twice.

What do I do with the foreign tax paid on my 1099-DIV?

Box 7 shows the foreign tax your broker passed on. Claim it as a foreign tax credit on your return. If it is $300 or less ($600 for a joint return) and all your foreign income is dividends and interest reported on a 1099, you do not need Form 1116.

Can I claim the foreign tax credit without Form 1116?

Yes, if all your foreign income is passive, all of it was reported on a statement such as Form 1099-DIV, and your total foreign tax is not more than $300, or $600 if married filing jointly.

Can foreign withholding tax be claimed back?

Only the part above your treaty rate. A US resident can reclaim 20% from Switzerland and 11.375% from Germany. The remaining 15% is not refunded by the foreign country. It is recovered through the foreign tax credit.

How do I avoid US withholding tax on dividends as a non-US investor?

You cannot avoid it entirely. A valid W-8BEN lowers it from 30% to your country's treaty rate, which is 15% for most treaty countries.

Which countries do not withhold tax on dividends?

Among the major markets, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong withhold nothing on ordinary dividends. Ireland exempts US residents. Australian franked dividends carry no withholding.

Disclaimer

This article is general information, not tax advice. Rates and procedures were checked in October 2026 and can change. Tax treatment depends on your country of residence, account type and personal situation. Check with the tax authority concerned or a qualified tax professional before you act.