How to reclaim withholding tax on dividends received from Nordic shares
General information
Since the foreign broker changed in the spring of 2019, LHV's clients who have invested in shares from Finland, Sweden, Norway or Denmark will be subject to a higher withholding tax rate on dividends staring in April 2019.
The new tax rate varies between 25% and 35% from country to country, while double taxation avoidance agreements with these four countries allow for the application of a 15% tax rate on dividends payable to Estonian tax residents.
Therefore, an LHV client has the opportunity to receive a refund on overpaid income tax, by applying directly to a foreign tax office. Below we examine the process of receiving a refund on income tax withheld from dividends in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
This guideline is only informative in nature and is not intended to be comprehensive or exhaustive. Only the state tax authority of the country where the company that paid the dividend is located is entitled to make final assessments regarding the tax refund. In preparing this guideline, LHV Pank has applied its own best knowledge and reasonable care, to ensure that there are no errors or omissions, and is not responsible for the occurrence of such errors or omissions.
Repayment of Finnish withholding tax on dividends
Currently applicable tax rate: 35%
Tax rate secured with the tax agreement: 15%A refund of overpaid income tax on Finnish dividends can be claimed within three years of the dividend payment year. This means that the refund for income tax withheld in 2020 can be applied for until the end of 2023.
If the refundable amount is EUR 10 for the year, or less, the income tax will not be refunded.
A tax reclaim application can be submitted electronically via the e-service of the Finnish Tax Administration, where you can log in using an Estonian ID-card or mobile-ID.
Alternatively, the signed application, along with additional documents, can also be sent to the Finnish Tax Administration by post, to the address
The signed application, along with additional documents, must be sent directly to the Finnish Tax Administration by post, to the address
Finnish Tax Administration
P.O. Box 560
FI-00052 VERO
FINLANDThe list of documents to be submitted and the application form of the Finnish Tax Administration differ depending on whether the dividends have been received in the account of a natural person or a company. We will be looking at both options below.
Individual investors
If an investor who is a natural person wishes to receive a refund for overpaid income tax from the government of Finland, he or she must1) complete a tax reclaim application either electronically via the e-service of the Finnish Tax Administration (‘Application for refund of tax at source’) or on paper Form 6164e,
2) append a certificate of tax residency received from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (available from the e-tax board) confirming the investor’s tax residency in the year when the dividends were paid out, and
3) append a withholding tax certificate received from LHV Pank (to obtain a certificate, write to the address info@lhv.ee or call 680-0400). The cost for issuing a certificate is EUR 10.
If you choose to submit an application by post, then the certificate of residency and a withholding tax certificate may initially be requested in electronic format to your e-mail address, then printed out on paper and submitted to the Finnish Tax Administration. The Finnish Tax Administration reserves the right to request the original documents later.
Tips for completing Form 6164e
Clause 1 – add your personal information. In clause 1.3 ‘Tax id. no. in country of residence’ enter your personal identification code. In clause 1.4 ‘Finnish personal identity code or date of birth’ fill in your date of birth as ‘dd.mm.yyyy’. In clause 1.5 ‘Country of residence’ write ‘Estonia’. In clause 1.8 ‘Post Office’ write the location of the post office, for example, ‘Tallinn’.
Clause 2 – tick the box ‘dividends’.
Clause 3 – include details concerning the dividend payment (all necessary information can be found on the withholding tax certificate received from the LHV Pank). In field 3.1 tick the box ‘due to nominee-registered share,’ leave fields 3.2–3.6 blank. In field 3.7 write the name of the company that paid out the dividend. In field 3.8 fill in the ISIN code of the security. In field 3.9 tick the box ‘Yes’. In field 3.10 write the dividend payment date. In field 3.11 write the number of shares on which the dividend was paid. In fields 3.12–3.14 fill in the gross amount of the dividend, the amount of tax withheld and the requested amount of refund, respectively. If several dividend distributions have been received, complete clause 3 for a single payment, tick the box in 3.15 and indicate the remaining payments separately on Form 6167e. In field 3.16 write ‘AS LHV Pank, Saxo Bank A/S’. In field 3.17 tick the box ‘Based on Tax Treaty’.
Clause 4 – leave blank.
Clause 5 – add the bank account number, where the reclaimed sum will be transferred.
Clause 6 – only complete if the application is being submitted by the legal representative of an investor.
Tick the boxes ‘A certificate of tax residency issued by local authorities is enclosed’ and the affirmation statements at the end of the form, and sign your name.
Additional information on completing an application is available on the homepage of the Finnish Tax Administration.
Tips for completing an electronic application
Go the the e-service portal of the Finnish Tax Administration, click on the ‘Sign in’ button and select ‘Identification methods for foreigners’ → ‘Estonia’, then authenticate yourself using an ID-card or mobile-ID and finally click on ‘Continue to service’. Choose from the right side of the page ‘Application for refund of tax at source’ and complete the electronic form following instructions on the screen.
Step 1 (Basic details) – if the application is submitted by the dividend receiver, the choose ‘Applicant’. If the application is submitted by a representative, then choose ‘Agent’.
Step 2 (Applicant’s details) – add your personal information.
Step 3 (Details of income) – include details concerning the dividend payment(s). In section ‘Income received from Finland’ select ‘Dividends’ → ‘Based on nominee-registered shares’. In section ‘Dividend income’ list all the dividend payments on which you reclaim a refund (all necessary information can be found on the withholding tax certificate received from the LHV Pank). In field ‘Grounds for requesting a refund of tax at source’ select ‘Tax Treaty’. In field ‘Intermediary bank’ write ‘AS LHV Pank, Saxo Bank A/S’.
Step 4 (Bank details) – add the bank account number, where the reclaimed sum will be transferred. For a bank account located in Europe, choose ‘SEPA’ as your payments area.
Step 5 (Other details) – confirmations and attachment upload. Tick the boxes next to the affirmation statements. In field ‘Previous refund of tax at source’ select whether Finnish withholding tax has been reclaimed before and if yes, then include the number of the previous decision by the Finnish Tax Administration. Upload a certificate of tax residency from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board and a withholding tax certificate from LHV Pank.
Step 6 (Review and send) – check the information you entered and if everything is correct, then submit the application by clicking ‘Submit’.
Corporate investors
In order to receive a refund of overpaid income tax, investors who are legal persons, must do the following:
1) complete a tax reclaim application either electronically via the e-service of the Finnish Tax Administration (‘Application for refund of tax at source’) or on paper Form 6163e,
2) append a document certifying the right to sign to the application (for example, an English language printout of the B-card from the e-Business Register),
3) append a certificate of tax residency received from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (available from the e-tax board) confirming the investor’s tax residency in the year when the dividends were paid out, and
4) append a withholding tax certificate received from LHV Pank (to obtain a certificate, write to the address info@lhv.ee or call 680-0400). The cost for issuing a certificate is EUR 10.
If you choose to submit an application by post, then the certificate of residency and a withholding tax certificate may initially be requested in electronic format to your e-mail address, then printed out on paper and submitted to the Finnish Tax Administration. The Finnish Tax Administration reserves the right to request the original documents later.
Tips for completing Form 6163e
Clause 1 – add the data of the company that received the dividends. Indicate the beginning and end of the company’s financial year in fields 1.2 and 1.3. The dividend payment dates specified in the application must fall within the range of the indicated financial year. In field 1.4, indicate the postal address of the company, in field 1.5 add the postal code and in field 1.6 ‘Post Office’ write the city where the post office is located, e.g. ‘Tallinn’. In field 1.9 ‘Country of residence’ enter ‘Estonia’ and in field 1.10 ‘Country code’ enter the abbreviation of the Republic of Estonia ‘EE’. In field 1.11 indicate the company’s registry code; leave fields 1.12 and 1.13 blank. Indicate the business form of the company in fields 1.14 and 1.15 (e.g. in the case of Osaühing (OÜ), tick the box ‘Corporate entity’ in field 1.14 and write ‘Private limited company’ in field 1.15). In field 1.16 tick the box ‘a non-listed company’ and leave fields 1.17 and 1.18 blank. In field 1.23, tick the box ‘Tax treaty between Finland and the applicant's country of residence’.
Clause 2 – only to be completed if the application is being submitted by a third party (e.g. the company’s tax consultant).
Clause 3 – add the bank account number to which the requested amount will be transferred.
Clause 4 – tick the box ‘dividends’.
Clause 5 – include details concerning the dividend payment (all necessary information can be found on the withholding tax certificate received from the LHV Pank). In field 5.1 tick the box ‘due on nominee-registered shares’. Leave fields 5.2–5.6 blank. In field 5.7 write the name of the company that paid out the dividend. In field 5.8 fill in the ISIN code of the security. In field 5.9 tick the box ‘Yes’. In field 5.10 write the dividend payment date. In field 5.11 write the number of shares on which the dividend was paid. In fields 5.12–5.14 fill in the gross amount of the dividend, the amount of tax withheld and the requested amount of refund, respectively. If several dividend distributions have been received, complete fields 5.7–5.14 for a single payment, tick the box in 5.19, indicate the remaining payments separately on Form 6167e and fill in total amounts of all dividends received in fields 5.15–5.17. In field 5.18 write ‘AS LHV Pank, Saxo Bank A/S’.
Clause 6 – leave blank.
Clause 7 – mark the status of the actual beneficiary of the dividends. In field 7.2 tick the box ‘No’. In field 7.4 tick the box ‘Yes’.
Place your signature at the end of the form and tick the boxes ‘Certificate of residence or other registration certificate issued by officials in the applicant's home country is enclosed’ and ‘A power of attorney granted to the applicant's representative is enclosed’.
Additional information on completing an application is available on the homepage of the Finnish Tax Administration.
Tips for completing an electronic application
Go the the e-service portal of the Finnish Tax Administration, click on the ‘Sign in’ button and select ‘Identification methods for foreigners’ → ‘Estonia’, then authenticate yourself using an ID-card or mobile-ID and finally click on ‘Continue to service’. Choose from the right side of the page ‘Application for refund of tax at source’ and complete the electronic form following instructions on the screen.
Step 1 (Basic details) – if the application is submitted by the dividend receiver, the choose ‘Applicant’. If the application is submitted by a representative (e.g. the company’s tax consultant), then choose ‘Agent’.
Step 2 (Applicant’s details) – add the data of the company that received the dividends. In section ‘Details on foreign corporate entity’ indicate the beginning and end of the company’s financial year. The dividend payment dates specified in the application must fall within the range of the indicated financial year. From the drop-down menu ‘Applicant’s legal form’ select the business form of the company (e.g. in the case of Osaühing (OÜ), select ‘Corporate entity’ and write ‘Private limited company’ in field ‘Describe the applicant’s legal form in more detail’). In field ‘Listed company’ select ‘No’ and from the drop-down menu ‘Grounds for requesting a refund of tax at source’ select ‘Tax treaty between Finland and the applicant’s country of residence’.
Step 3 (Details of income) – include details concerning the dividend payment(s). In section ‘Income received from Finland’ select ‘Dividends’ → ‘Based on nominee-registered shares’. In section ‘Dividend income’ list all the dividend payments on which you reclaim a refund (all necessary information can be found on the withholding tax certificate received from the LHV Pank). In field ‘Intermediary bank’ write ‘AS LHV Pank, Saxo Bank A/S’.
Step 4 (Bank details) – add the bank account number, where the reclaimed sum will be transferred. For a bank account located in Europe, choose ‘SEPA’ as your payments area.
Step 5 (Other details) – confirmations and attachment upload. Confirm the status of the actual beneficiary and the right of ownership to the shares. Next to the question ‘Have the shares been part of a loan arrangement’ tick ‘No’ and next to the question ‘Is the applicant entitled to the shares on which dividends have been paid to the applicant’s account’ tick ‘Yes’. Specify whether Finnish withholding tax has been reclaimed before and if yes, then include the number of the previous decision by the Finnish Tax Administration. Upload a certificate of tax residency from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, a document certifying the right to sign the application, and a withholding tax certificate from LHV Pank.
Step 6 (Review and send) – check the information you entered and if everything is correct, then submit the application by clicking ‘Submit’.
Repayment of Swedish withholding tax on dividends
Currently applicable tax rate: 30%
Tax rate secured with the tax agreement: 15%A refund of overpaid income tax on Swedish dividends can be claimed within five years of the dividend payment year. This means that the refund for income tax withheld in 2020 can be applied for until the end of 2025.
In order to receive a refund for overpaid income tax, both individual and corporate investors must do the following:
1) fill in the Swedish Tax Agency's application form SKV 3740 (available on the Swedish Tax Agency's website), at the end of which an official of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board must also provide their signature, certifying the applicant's tax residence;
2) append a certificate of tax residency received from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (available from the e-tax board) confirming the investor’s tax residency in the year when the dividends were paid out, and
3) append a withholding tax certificate received from LHV Pank (to obtain a certificate, write to the address info@lhv.ee or call 680-0400). The cost for issuing a certificate is EUR 10.
The signed application, along with supporting documents, must be sent directly to the Swedish Tax Agency by post, to the address
Swedish Tax Agency / Kupongskatt
S-171 94 Solna
SWEDENAdditional information on completing an application is available on the homepage of the Swedish Tax Agency.
Tips on completing the Swedish Tax Agency application form
Part 1 – add your personal information or the information of the company that received the dividends. In the cell ‘Grounds for the claim’ mark ‘Under the provisions of a tax treaty between Sweden and Estonia’.
Part II – In clause 1 confirm that the address of the place of residence indicated in Part I (legal address in the case of a company) is the same as at the time of dividend distributions (if not, write the previous address). In clause 2, mark the company’s form of establishment (in the case of Osaühing (OÜ), write ‘Private Limited Company’). When submitting the application as a private person, leave clause 2 blank.
Part III – In clause 1, mark the status of the actual beneficiary of the dividends. In clause 2, mark whether the company had a permanent establishment in Sweden on the dates of the dividend payments specified in the application. In clause 3, mark the percentage of the company's shareholding in the Swedish company that paid the dividends. When submitting the application as a private person, leave clauses 2 and 3 blank.
At the end of the first page, indicate the amount of overpaid income tax refundable in Swedish kronor and append your signature. The amount exceeding 15% of the total amount of gross income dividends permitted by law will be refunded.
Part III (continued) – In clause 4, indicate the currency and bank account in which you would like to receive your income tax refund.
Part IV – fill in the data on received Swedish dividend payments (all necessary information can be found on the withholding tax certificate received from the LHV Pank). In column No. 7 (‘Swedish tax to be repaid’), indicate the difference between the withheld income tax (column No. 6) and the 15% income tax permitted by law.
The last part of the form ‘Certificate issued by competent authority or bank in the country of permanent residence’ shall be completed by an official from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.
Repayment of Norwegian withholding tax on dividends
Currently applicable tax rate: 25%
Tax rate secured with the tax agreement: 15%A refund of overpaid income tax from Norwegian dividends can generally be applied for once four months have passed from the receipt of the dividends. The refund application can be submitted up until the end of the fifth year following the year of the dividend payment. This means that the refund for income tax withheld in 2020 can be applied for until the end of 2025.
To claim a refund of overpaid income tax, the investor must proceed as follows:
1) complete the Norwegian Tax Administration application form (one should complete the form electronically and then print it out, since a portion of the calculations are performed in the form automatically);
2) append a covering letter stating that the received dividends were originally deposited into nominee account No. 121600000982 registered at the Norwegian Central Securities Depository, which is managed by Saxo Bank A/S;
3) append a certificate of tax residency received from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (available from the e-tax board) confirming the investor’s tax residency in the year when the dividends were paid out, and
4) append a withholding tax certificate received from LHV Pank (to obtain a certificate, write to the address info@lhv.ee or call 680-0400). The cost for issuing a certificate is EUR 10.
The signed application, along with additional documents, must be sent directly to the Norwegian Tax Administration by post, to the address
Skatteetaten
Postboks 9200 Grønland
0134 Oslo
NORWAYAdditional information on completing an application is available on the homepage of the Norwegian Tax Administration.
The list of documents to be submitted and the application form of the Norwegian Tax Administration differ depending on whether the dividends have been received in the account of a natural person or a company. We will be looking at both options below.
Individual investors
Clause 1 – add your personal information. In the cell ‘TIN (Tax Identification Number) enter your personal identification code.
Clause 2 – only complete if the application is being submitted by the legal representative of an investor.
Clause 3 – write ‘Estonia’ in the cell.
Clause 4 – confirmation of tax residency. This clause may be left blank if you have requested a separate tax residence certificate from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. If you have not requested a certificate, please have an official from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board complete this part.
Clause 5 – include details about the dividends received. In the column ‘VPS (CSD) account number’ mark ‘121600000982’ as the central depository’s account number. Add the year of dividend payment, the ISIN code of the security and the name of the issuer, and indicate the gross amount of the dividend in the box ‘Gross amount in NOK’. Necessary data can be found in the certificate received from LHV Pank. The withheld income tax amount in the column ‘Withholding tax 25% and the refundable amount in the column ‘Refund claim 10%’ are calculated automatically.
Clause 6 – add the bank account number to which the requested amount will be transferred.
Clause 7 – add your name, date and signature.
Corporate investors
Clause 1 – add the data of the company that received the dividends. In the cell ‘TIN (Tax Identification Number) enter your company’s registry code.
Clause 2 – only to be completed if the application is being submitted by a third party (e.g. a tax consultant of the company).
Clause 3 – write ‘Estonia’ in the cell and tick the box ‘Pursuant to the standard double taxation treaty rate’.
Clause 4 – confirmation of tax residency. This clause may be left blank if you have requested a separate tax residence certificate from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. If you have not requested a certificate, please have an official from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board complete this part.
Clause 5 – include details about the dividends received. In the column ‘VPS (CSD) account number’ mark ‘121600000982’ as the central depository’s account number. Add the year of dividend payment, the ISIN code of the security and the name of the issuer, and indicate the gross amount of the dividend in the box ‘Gross amount in NOK’. Necessary data can be found in the certificate received from LHV Pank. In the title of the last two columns, select the withholding and refundable income tax rates (25% and 10%, respectively), after which the sums of money will be calculated automatically.
Clause 6 – share lending. Tick the box ‘NO’.
Clause 7 – add the bank account number to which the requested amount will be transferred.
Clause 8 – add the company’s name, date and the representative's signature.
Repayment of Danish withholding tax on dividends
Currently applicable tax rate: 27%
Tax rate secured with the tax agreement: 15%A refund of overpaid income tax on Danish dividends can be claimed within three years of the receipt of the dividend payment. For example, income tax withheld in May 2020 can be reclaimed until the end of April 2023.
To claim a refund of overpaid income tax, an e-application must be completed and submitted on the Danish Tax Agency's website, accompanied by the following documents:
1) a certificate of tax residency received from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (available from the e-tax board) confirming the investor’s tax residency in the year when the dividends were paid out;
2) an English language account statement from LHV’s Internet Bank, which covers a period of at least 12 months: six months before and six months after the date of the general meeting when the dividend distribution was approved. The general meetings of publicly traded Danish companies generally take place one day before the ex-date of the announced dividend. More information can be found on the exchange’s or issuer’s website;
The account statement must include all transactions performed with this share during the specified period, including purchases, sales and dividend receipts. To define the data to be displayed, enter the stock symbol in the filter field of the account statement page (‘Assets and Liabilities’ → ‘Account statement’). On the basis of the statement, it must be possible to determine the number of shares that were held by the investor on the record date and for which the refund of Danish dividend tax is claimed;3) a withholding tax certificate received from LHV Pank (to obtain a certificate, write to the address info@lhv.ee or call 680-0400). The cost for issuing a certificate is EUR 10.
Additional information is available on the Danish Tax Agency’s homepage.
Tips on completing the Danish Tax Agency’s electronic application form.
Page 1 – choose whether the application is completed by a shareholder or a legal representative acting under a power of attorney. Select ‘Shareholder’ if you are applying for a refund on your own behalf or on behalf of a company whose member of the management board you are. At the end of the page enter your e-mail address and telephone number.
Page 2 – add your details or the details of the company you represent. In the cell ‘TIN (Tax Identification Number)’ enter your personal identification code (registry code in the case of a company).
Page 3 – add details concerning the dividend payment. In clause 1 select ‘Double taxation agreement or other agreement between Denmark and the country specified by the shareholder’. In the clause ‘Select how you want to identify the share’ select ‘ISIN code’ (you will find this on the certificate supplied by LHV Pank or in the securities transaction confirmation available in the Internet Bank). Then enter the date when the dividend payment was approved (this is generally the date of the general meeting of shareholders). Next, enter the gross sum of the dividends received, withholding tax rate (‘27’) and the rate specified in the tax agreement (‘15’). The field ‘Amount of refund (DKK)’ is then completed automatically. Now you will need to attach the English language account statement and LHV Pank's withholding tax certificate. Regarding the questions found at the end of the page ‘Did you borrow the share from another party at the time when the dividend was approved?’ and ‘Did you lend the share to another party at the time when the dividend was approved?’ answer ‘No’.
Page 4 – append a certificate of tax residency obtained from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.
Page 5 – add the bank account number to which the requested amount will be transferred.
Page 6 – check the information, make corrections if necessary (pressing the ‘Edit’ button) and finally submit the application by pressing the ‘Send’ button.
