How can I claim back the Swiss anticipatory tax (withholding tax)?

Dividends from securities domiciled in Switzerland: If you hold ETFs on Swiss equities in your discretionary portfolio, the so-called Swiss Anticipatory Tax of 35 percent is levied on dividends. You can reclaim this in full if you declare the corresponding income correctly in your tax return.

Dividends from securities domiciled abroad: For funds with foreign companies, a withholding tax is levied on dividends. The amount of this withholding tax and the portion that can be reclaimed depends on the country in question. Thanks to double taxation agreements that Switzerland has concluded with many countries, a full or partial refund is often possible – but only if the income is declared accordingly.

To reclaim anticipatory and withholding taxes, download our free e-tax statement into your tax software. This will automatically transfer the data and claim the relevant tax paid. If you wish to enter the data manually in your securities register, you will find the relevant values on page 1 of your tax statement.

For Pillar 3a, you do not need to provide any information on withholding tax on your tax statement. Where appropriate, index funds exempt from withholding tax are used.