Standard refund - eligibility, documentation, deadlines - Finnish equities

27.07.2022

Who can apply for a standard refund?

A standard refund of withholding tax on dividend payments from Finnish equities is available through Clearstream Banking for the following beneficial owners, if the required certification has not been provided within the relief at source or quick refund deadlines.

Beneficial owner type

Tax rate

Non-treaty individuals (domestic law)

30%

Non-treaty corporations (domestic law)

20%

Residents of a double taxation treaty (DTT) country

  • General treaty rate
  • Special articles of the DTT
  • Direct investment dividend according to the articles of the DTT

DTT rate

Tax exempt entities (domestic law)

  • Equivalent to a corresponding Finnish entity exempt from tax;
  • Parent-Subsidiary Directive;
  • Other

0%

Documentation requirements

In order to benefit from a standard refund of withholding tax on income from Finnish equities, clients must ensure that we receive the following documents. The templates of the documents are available on our Tax forms to use section.

To apply for a standard refund, you must submit to Clearstream Banking, in the original, the following per reclaim:

  • Letter of request to Clearstream Banking for a reclaim of Finnish withholding tax; and
  • Certificate of residence or a copy of a tax-at-source card (for individual applicants, VEROH 6164e can be certified by the local tax authorities instead of including a separate certificate of residence or tax-at-source card);
  • Power of attorney (full chain);
  • Credit advice (full chain).

The following additional documentation must in addition be provided according to the specific beneficial owner type, as follows:

Beneficial owner type

Tax Rate

Documentation requirements

Non-treaty individuals (domestic law)

30%

  • Form VEROH 6164e Application for Refund of Finnish Withholding Tax on Dividends (Individual Applicant); AND
  • Form VEROH 6167e Specification of dividend payments for which refund is being requested (if applicable);

Non-treaty corporations (domestic law)

20%

  • Form VEROH 6163e Application for Refund of Finnish Withholding Tax on Dividends (Non-individual Applicant); AND
  • Form VEROH 6167e Specification of dividend payments for which refund is being requested (if applicable);

Residents of a double taxation treaty (DTT) country

  • General treaty rate
  • Special articles of the DTT
  • Direct investment dividend according to the articles of the DTT

DTT rate

  • Form VEROH 6163e Application for Refund of Finnish Withholding Tax on Dividends (Non-individual Applicant); OR
  • Form VEROH 6164e Application for Refund of Finnish Withholding Tax on Dividends (Individual Applicant); AND
  • Form VEROH 6167e Specification of dividend payments for which refund is being requested (if applicable); AND
  • any other supporting documentation, that confirms the beneficial owner meet the required conditions for DTT.


Tax exempt entities (domestic law)

  • Equivalent to a corresponding Finnish entity exempt from tax;
  • Parent-Subsidiary Directive;
  • Other

0%

  • Form VEROH 6163e Application for Refund of Finnish Withholding Tax on Dividends (Non-individual Applicant); AND
  • Form VEROH 6167e Specification of dividend payments for which refund is being requested (if applicable); AND
  • Relevant excerpts of the regulations or prospectus in English to confirm the basic characteristics of the tax-exempt entity and any other supporting documentation, that confirms the beneficial owner meet the required conditions for tax exemption.
  • Form VEROH 6161 (enclosure to form 6163)

Statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax

The general statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax, applicable to reclaims submitted via standard refund procedures, is as follows:

Dividends paid

Statutory deadline

Up to and including 31 December 2016

Five years after the end of the year in which the income payment was made

On or after 1 January 2017

Three years after the end of the year in which the income payment was made

Exception: The statutory deadline for Dutch beneficial owners reclaiming Finnish dividend withholding tax, is five years after the end of the year in which the dividend payment was made, instead of the general three years deadline, which is applicable for other beneficiaries.

The five-year deadline applies in respect to withholding tax levied since 1 January 2017.

Clearstream deadline for standard refund applications

The deadline by which Clearstream Banking must receive the documentation is at least four 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 cases, Clearstream Banking will apply an extra charge and accepts no responsibility for forms that have not reached the Finnish Authorities by the date considered as being the statute of limitations deadline.

When are refunds received?

The estimated time for receiving a refund can vary depending on the time that the application is filed and the complexity of the information supplied in the reclaim form. Clearstream Banking has collected information from sources considered reliable but does not guarantee the accuracy of the timings presented.

Standard refund

The estimated time for receiving a refund is six months from the date of receipt by the Finnish Tax Authorities, although this can vary depending on when the application is filed and the complexity of the information supplied in the reclaim form.

Note: The Finnish Tax Authorities will only process applications for a standard refund in the beginning of the year following the dividend payment.

Notes on tax reclaims

Clients warrant the completeness and accuracy of the information they supply to Clearstream Banking.

It is the client's responsibility to determine any entitlement to standard refund of tax withheld, to complete the forms required correctly and to calculate the amount due. Clearstream Banking is under no obligation to carry out any investigation in respect of such information.

With respect to tax reclaims in general, clients are reminded that Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the tax authorities of the respective country.