Standard refund - eligibility, documentation, deadlines - Irish equities
Who can apply for a standard refund?
Standard refund of withholding tax on dividends payments from Irish equities, with a record date before 26 April 2021, is available through Clearstream Banking, provided that the final beneficial owner is either a qualifying non-resident person or entitled to a reduced tax rate on Irish dividends according to a Double Taxation treaty signed between its country of residence and Ireland.
Documentation requirements
In order to benefit from a standard refund of withholding tax on dividends from Irish equities, customers must ensure to provide Clearstream Banking with the following documents within the applicable deadlines. The related templates of the documents are available on our Tax forms to use section.
For all customers applying for standard refund on dividends from Irish equities:
- Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for reclaim of Irish withholding tax on dividends payments with a record date before 26 April 2021, in the name of the Clearstream Banking customer,
- Chain of Credit Advices from each intermediary between Clearstream Banking and the final beneficial owner
- Claim for refund of Dividend Withholding Tax, in the name of the final beneficial owner
- Power of Attorney, only if a third party is completing the claim form on behalf of the beneficial owner
In addition, for final beneficial owners that are qualifying non-resident persons:
- A Qualifying Non-Resident Form V2A or V2B or V2C, in the name of the final beneficial owner
- Power of Attorney, only if a third party is completing the qualifying non-resident form on behalf of the beneficial owner
Statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax
The statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax is four years after the end of the year in which the income payment was made.
Clearstream Banking deadline for standard refund applications
The deadline by which Clearstream Banking must receive the documentation for a standard refund application is at the latest two months before the statutory deadline. All standard refund applications received after this deadline will be processed by Clearstream Banking on a "best efforts" basis. However, in such a case, Clearstream Banking will apply an extra charge and accepts no responsibility for forms that have not reached the Irish Tax Authorities by the date considered being the statute of limitations deadline.
When are refunds received?
The estimated time for receiving a refund from a standard refund application is four months from the date of receipt by the Irish Tax Authorities, although this can vary depending on when the application is filed, and the complexity of the information supplied in the reclaim form.
Notes on tax reclaims
Customers warrant the completeness and accuracy of the information they supply to Clearstream Banking.
It is the customer's responsibility to determine any entitlement to a refund of tax withheld, to calculate the amount due and to correctly complete the required forms in due time. Clearstream Banking is under no obligation to carry out any investigation in respect of such information.
With respect to reclaims in general, customers are reminded that Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the authorities of the respective country.