Austria: Changes to the procedure for reclaiming withholding tax on dividend payments as from 2015

The Austrian Tax Authority (ATA) has informed Clearstream Banking¹ about the following changes to the procedure for reclaiming withholding tax on dividends, due to an amendment of the Austrian Fiscal Code (§ 240a Bundesabgabenordnung) which can be found on the Austrian Tax Authority’s website.

Impact on customers

There is no change to the procedure for dividend payments before 2015. Applicants/beneficial owners can submit several reclaim application forms to the ATA.

Tax reclaims for dividend payments in 2015 can be submitted to the ATA no earlier than 2016. This means customers cannot file the reclaim application form before the end of the year in which the tax was withheld (for example, not before 2016 for dividends paid in 2015).

In addition, the ATA also stated that from a procedural point of view the ATA would require only one single reclaim application form per year and per applicant/beneficial owner.

The above rules apply even if the applicant/beneficial owner has several securities accounts with various custodians. All tax reclaims shall be grouped in a single tax application form ZS-RE1 together with a ZS-RE1A form.

Clearstream Banking is in discussion with the ATA to clarify the compliance concerning the single tax application form per year and per applicant/beneficial owner and will inform customers as soon as we have feedback.

Further information

For further information, please contact the Clearstream Banking Tax Help Desk or Clearstream Banking Client Services or your Relationship Officer.

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1. Clearstream Banking refers collectively to Clearstream Banking AG, registered office at 61, Mergenthalerallee, 65760 Eschborn, Germany and registered in Register B of the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany under number HRB 7500, and Clearstream Banking S.A., registered office at 42, avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, and registered with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register under number B-9248.