Standard refund - eligibility, documentation, deadlines - Spanish debt securities (securities held in CBF)
Who can apply for a standard refund?
A standard refund of withholding tax on interest from Spanish debt securities is available through Clearstream Banking for beneficial owners depending on the type of the domestic Spanish debt securities, as follows:
1. Domestic bonds subject to RD 1145/2011:
| Eligible beneficial owners | Effective rate of tax after refund | Tax refund available a |
Non-residents of Spain | 0% | 19% |
Supranational organisations recognised by Spanish law | 0% | 19% |
a. Expressed as a percentage of the gross interest amount.
2. Domestic corporate bonds not subject to RD 1145/2011:
| Eligible beneficial owners | Effective rate of tax after refund | Tax refund available a |
Residents of Double Taxation Treaty countries | Treaty rate | 19% minus the treaty rate b |
Residents of EU/EEA member countries (not Spain) | 0% | 19% |
Foreign central banks | 0% | 19% |
Supranational organisations recognised by Spanish law | 0% | 19% |
a. Expressed as a percentage of the gross interest amount.
b. Amount of relief will be 0% if the DTT rate exceeds 19%.
Important note:
Customers are reminded that all standard refund applications depend on the final approval of the Spanish Tax Authorities and that Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the respective authorities.
Documentation requirements
To apply for a standard refund of withholding tax on interest from Spanish debt securities, the following documentation must be submitted to Clearstream Banking, depending on the type of security and on the status and residence of the final beneficial owner, as follows:
Domestic bonds subject to RD 1145/2011
For all types of beneficial owners: the refund certification shall be processed in two steps:
- Upload of a Breakdown of refund:
Excel file containing the BO details to be communicated to the STA. This includes, among other details, the Spanish TIN (n code). If the BO has no Spanish TIN the dedicated field must be left blank and it will be requested from the STA by the agent.
The Breakdown of refund has to be provided via the BO upload facility, where the template is available.
Once uploaded, a reference number is communicated that has to be inserted in the Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Spanish Withholding Tax for payments after 30 November 2020. - Sending paper documentation
- An English Bank identity certificate issued by the beneficial owner’s bank, containing and certifying the ownership of the designated cash account by the beneficial owner (BO identity details + BIC + IBAN shall be present in the certificate). Specific details are required for non-EU cash accounts. It will be used by the Spanish tax authorities to pay the refund. It should be provided in original once with the first tax reclaim and is valid until revoked.
- An English Power of Attorney granting to Clearstream Banking the right to process the reclaim with the Spanish Tax Authorities on behalf of the final beneficial owner. This Power of Attorney does not need to be notarised or apostilled.
Note: In addition, Clearstream Banking will provide a Power of Attorney, notarised and apostilled, granting to its agent the right to process the reclaim with the Spanish Tax Authorities and issuing companies on Clearstream Banking's behalf. - A Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Spanish Withholding Tax for payments after 30 November 2020 (LOR) granting to Clearstream Banking the right to process the reclaim with the Spanish Tax Authorities on behalf of the customer
- Full chain of credit advices.
Additional documentation must be submitted to Clearstream Banking, depending on the status and residency of the final beneficial owner, as follows:
Non-residents of Spain:
- Certificate of Residence (COR) issued by the beneficial owner's local tax authorities, valid one year. It is recommended to provide this form double-sided;
- Additional documents such as copies of the by-laws for Central Banks (upon request).
Residents of countries for which there is a “Petición de Devolución” (Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden or Switzerland):
- A Petición de Devolución (instead of a COR) for residents of Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Austria. This Petición is issued by the local Tax Authorities of the BO’s country of residence. However, should the STAs require a COR instead of a Petición de Devolución in order to process the tax reclaim, a COR will have to be provided; and
- A Power of Attorney (if the customer or a third party is completing the “Petición de Devolución” on behalf of the beneficial owner).
For Supranational organisations recognised by Spanish law:
- Copy of the “Convenio Constitutivo” confirming tax-exempt status (if applicable).
Domestic bonds not subject to RD 1145/2011
For all types of beneficial owners, the refund certification shall be processed in two steps:
- Upload of a Breakdown of refund:
Excel file containing the BO details to be communicated to the STA. This includes, among other details, the Spanish TIN (n code). If the BO has no Spanish TIN the dedicated field must be left blank and it will be requested from the STA by the agent.
The Breakdown of refund has to be provided via the BO upload facility, where the template is available.
Once uploaded, a reference number is communicated that has to be inserted in the Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Spanish Withholding Tax for payments after 30 November 2020. - Sending paper documentation
- An English Bank identity certificate issued by the beneficial owner’s bank, containing and certifying the ownership of the designated cash account by the beneficial owner. Specific details are required for non-EU cash accounts. It will be used by the Spanish tax authorities to pay the refund. It should be provided in original once with the first tax reclaim and is valid until revoked.
- An English power of attorney granting to Clearstream Banking the right to process the reclaim with the Spanish Tax Authorities on behalf of the final beneficial owner. This Power of Attorney does not need to be notarised or apostilled.
Note: In addition, Clearstream Banking will provide a Power of Attorney, notarised and apostilled, granting to its agent the right to process the reclaim with the Spanish Tax Authorities and issuing companies on Clearstream Banking's behalf. - A Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Spanish Withholding Tax for payments after 30 November 2020 (LOR) granting to Clearstream Banking the right to process the reclaim with the Spanish Tax Authorities on behalf of the customer
- Full chain of credit advices.
For residents of DTT countries and/or EU/EEA member countries
- A Certificate of Residence issued by the local tax authorities of the beneficial owner, valid one year. It is recommended to provide this form double-sided
Residents of countries for which there is a “Petición de Devolución” (Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden or Switzerland)
- A “Petición de Devolución”, this Petición is issued by the local Tax Authorities of the BO’s country of residence. However, should the STA require a CoR instead of a Petición de Devolución in order to process the tax reclaim, such CoR will have to be provided; and
- A Power of Attorney (if the customer or a third party is completing the “Petición de Devolución” on behalf of the beneficial owner).
Supranational organisations recognised by Spanish law
- Copy of the “Convenio Constitutivo” confirming tax-exempt status (if applicable).
For foreign central banks
Certificate of Residence issued by the local tax authorities of the beneficial owner, to be provided only once (according to the Orden Ministerial EHA73316/2010) with the first standard refund application, it is recommended to provide this form double-sided;
Copy of the By-laws or any other official document proving the central bank status (upon request).
Form descriptions are presented according to the procedures available for relief and/or reclaim of withholding tax on income from Spanish debt securities.
Statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax
The statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax using the standard refund procedure is four years following the dividend payment date.
Important note: Reclaims of tax withheld on dividends paid as of 1 January may not be submitted to the Spanish Tax Authorities before the month of February of the year following the year in which the dividend payment was made.
Clearstream deadline for standard refund applications
The deadline by which Clearstream Banking must receive the documentation for an application is at the latest three months before the statutory deadline.
Standard refund follow-up and payment
For standard refund on interest income paid as of 30 November 2020, the tax amounts are refunded by the STA directly to the cash account of the respective final beneficial owner instead of processing the refund through the custody chain, via Clearstream Banking and its agent. Clearstream Banking highlights that status of the cash refund execution is not available to Clearstream Banking nor its agent, and that the follow-up of the payment completion is therefore purely under each beneficial owner’s responsibility.
Once the reclaim is filed to the STA website, a reference number is provided that is communicated to the customers for follow up purposes.
Clearstream Banking then amends the status of the reclaim to “closed” and communicate the reference number in the comment visible in Xact Web Portal. The reference number will not be communicated via Swift.
When are refunds received?
The estimated time for receiving a standard refund is eighteen months from the date of receipt by the Spanish Tax Authorities. This timing can vary depending on when the application is filed and on 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.
With respect to tax reclaims in general, customers are reminded that Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the tax authorities of the respective country. It is the customer's responsibility to determine any entitlement to a 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.