Reclaim Withholding Tax in Switzerland: 35% and DA-1 Form
Is 35% missing from your dividend or interest statement? That’s the Swiss withholding tax (Verrechnungssteuer). You get all of it back if you list the account or share and the gross income in the securities list of your tax return (Wertschriften- und Guthabenverzeichnis). You don’t need a separate form for it.
US dividends and other foreign income are a different tax with a different route: you credit the foreign withholding tax against Swiss taxes with the DA-1 form. The catch: the DA-1 only applies once your creditable foreign taxes for the year exceed CHF 100, and if you don’t declare income, you lose the Swiss withholding tax. We’ll look at both routes, with a worked example and the documents IBKR, Swissquote, Schwab and PostFinance provide.
In short:
- Swiss dividends, interest and Swiss ETFs: list the gross income and the asset in the securities list. The 35% is offset against your taxes or paid out.
- US shares and US ETFs: with Form W-8BEN, the US withholds 15% instead of 30%. You credit the 15% with the DA-1 once your creditable taxes for the year exceed CHF 100.
- Irish ETFs such as VWRL: no Swiss withholding tax and no withholding on the distribution, so nothing to reclaim. You still have to declare them.
- Deadline: three years after the end of the calendar year, so 31 December 2029 for 2026 income. In practice you handle it with your 2026 tax return.
What is the Swiss withholding tax?
The Swiss withholding tax is a 35% federal tax on Swiss investment income (ESTV). Its purpose is to make sure you declare that income on your tax return. If you do, you get it back. It’s deducted from:
- Dividends of Swiss companies, even if you hold the share at a foreign broker.
- Interest on Swiss bonds.
- Income of Swiss funds and ETFs, distributed or accumulated (reinvested). Separately reported capital gains and income from direct property ownership are exempt.
- Bank interest above CHF 200 a year. Up to this threshold the bank deducts nothing, as long as it settles the account once per calendar year and credits interest once. Above it, all of the interest is subject to withholding tax, not just the part above CHF 200. If the bank credits interest monthly or quarterly, the threshold doesn’t apply.
- Lottery and gambling wins from Swiss large-scale games and online casinos, on the part above CHF 1,071,000 per win.
There’s no Swiss withholding tax on dividends of foreign companies or on distributions of foreign funds such as Irish ETFs. Distributions from recognised capital contribution reserves can also be exempt; your statement shows it.
Don’t confuse the two “withholding taxes”: the tax at source (Quellensteuer) that employers deduct from many foreign employees’ salaries is an income tax. It has nothing to do with the withholding tax on investment income covered here.
How to reclaim Swiss withholding tax
If you live in Switzerland, the securities list of your tax return is your refund application. You enter every account, every portfolio and every position with its value on 31 December and its gross income, before the 35% deduction. Your canton’s tax software calculates the withholding tax from that.
The responsible canton is the one where you live at the end of the calendar year in which the income was due. You must have lived in Switzerland when the income was due and be the beneficial owner of the share or the account.
When do you get the withholding tax back?
The canton offsets it against your cantonal and municipal taxes. If the withholding tax is higher than the taxes you owe, it pays out the difference. Zurich credits it as of 31 March if your return arrives by then, and Bern pays at the latest with a provisional final bill about three months after you file. You don’t earn interest on the withholding tax.
Who loses the withholding tax
If you don’t declare an income or the asset behind it, the claim is forfeited. Since 1 January 2019 there’s an exception: if you negligently forgot something and declare it while the assessment, or a revision or supplementary tax procedure, isn’t final yet, you still get the withholding tax back. The same applies if the tax office finds the mistake itself. If you deliberately hide income, you lose the 35%.
Separately, the claim expires three years after the end of the calendar year in which the income was due. An extension for filing your tax return doesn’t extend this deadline.
Foreign withholding tax: what the DA-1 form is for
On foreign dividends, the company’s home country deducts a withholding tax. The double tax treaty with Switzerland usually limits it to 15%. Switzerland credits this remainder, which the source country is allowed to keep, against your taxes with the DA-1 form. If the source country withholds more than the treaty allows, you reclaim the difference from that country, not through the DA-1.
The key rules:
- More than CHF 100 a year. Your creditable foreign taxes must exceed CHF 100 in total, across all accounts and brokers. With 15% withholding, that means more than about CHF 667 of gross foreign dividends a year.
- Otherwise, you get a deduction. If the withholding taxes don’t exceed CHF 100, you deduct the non-reclaimable withholding tax from the gross income. That lowers your taxable income, but is worth less than a franc-for-franc credit.
- Declare gross. You enter 100% of the dividend before withholding, and the withholding tax separately.
- Capped at the Swiss tax on that income. The credit can’t exceed the Swiss income tax attributable to the foreign income. Debt interest, for example on a mortgage, can lower this cap. So 15% withholding doesn’t automatically mean a 15% credit.
- You file it yourself. The DA-1 is part of your tax return and goes to your canton, separately for each tax year. Tax software usually includes it, for example in the canton of Zurich. The deadline is three years after the end of the tax year.
US dividends: W-8BEN and 15%
Without a treaty, the US keeps 30% of dividends paid to people outside the US. With Form W-8BEN you confirm to your broker that you live in Switzerland and qualify for the treaty, and the rate drops to 15%. US citizens fill in Form W-9 instead. Interactive Brokers asks for the form when you open the account. If it’s missing or expired, you pay 30%, and you can’t credit the extra 15% through the DA-1.
The same applies to US ETFs such as VOO or VT: 15% US withholding on the distribution, creditable through the DA-1. With Irish ETFs such as VWRL, the fund itself usually pays 15% withholding on the US dividends it receives. As an investor you can’t credit this tax; it’s lost. Not every broker sells US ETFs, though; my Charles Schwab review shows one option.
Additional US withholding at Swiss banks
If you hold US shares at a Swiss bank that acts as a Qualified Intermediary with the US tax authorities, the bank can retain a further 15% of the gross dividend after the 15% US tax. This “additional tax retention USA” (zusätzlicher Steuerrückbehalt USA) isn’t a US tax. You get it back with the R-US application, which some cantons combine with the DA-1. The CHF 100 threshold doesn’t apply to it. Your dividend statement shows whether it was deducted.
Withholding tax in other countries
| Country | Usual deduction | Creditable through the DA-1 | Reclaim from the source country |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 15% with W-8BEN, otherwise 30% | 15% | Nothing, if the W-8BEN is in place |
| Germany | 26.375% | 15% | 11.375% from the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) |
| France | 12.8% | 12.8% | Nothing in the normal case |
| Netherlands | 15% | 15% | Nothing in the normal case |
| United Kingdom | No withholding tax | Nothing | Nothing |
The figures apply to ordinary dividends paid to private individuals. If your broker deducts more, you still only enter the creditable rate from the table in the DA-1, not the whole deduction.
Which tax, which form: overview
| Income | Tax | Form | What you get back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interest on a Swiss account above CHF 200 | Swiss withholding tax 35% | Securities list | 35%, offset or paid out |
| Dividend of a Swiss share | Swiss withholding tax 35% | Securities list | 35% |
| Distribution of a Swiss ETF | Swiss withholding tax 35% | Securities list | 35% |
| US share or US ETF, e.g. at IBKR or Schwab | US withholding tax 15% | DA-1, if your withholding taxes for the year exceed CHF 100 | 15%, at most the Swiss tax on the income |
| US share at a Swiss bank | US withholding tax 15%, possibly additional 15% retention | DA-1 and R-US | 15% credit plus all of the retention |
| German share | German withholding tax 26.375% | DA-1 and an application in Germany | 15% through the DA-1, 11.375% from Germany |
| Irish ETF, e.g. VWRL | None on the distribution | Securities list only | Nothing |
You file everything yourself with your tax return to your canton of residence, except the application in Germany. Your broker doesn’t fill in the DA-1 for you. If you pay tax at source on your salary, you have to request a subsequent ordinary assessment (nachträgliche ordentliche Veranlagung) by 31 March of the following year to reclaim the withholding tax, so by 31 March 2027 for 2026 income.
Worked example: Swiss dividend and US ETF
Assumptions:
- Tax year 2026, resident in Switzerland, no debt.
- A Swiss share pays a gross dividend of CHF 1,000.
- A US ETF such as VOO at Interactive Brokers pays a gross distribution of USD 1,000. The W-8BEN is in place.
- Exchange rate CHF 0.80 per USD. This is an assumption. Your canton sets the rates, Zurich for example uses annual average rates for income.
- The Swiss tax on the US income is higher than the withholding tax, so the cap doesn’t apply.
| Swiss share | US ETF at IBKR | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross income | CHF 1,000 | CHF 800 (USD 1,000) |
| Deduction | CHF 350 Swiss withholding tax | CHF 120 US withholding tax (USD 150) |
| Credited to your account | CHF 650 | CHF 680 (USD 850) |
| Declaration | CHF 1,000 in the securities list | CHF 800 gross, CHF 120 withholding in the DA-1 |
| Back from the canton | CHF 350 | CHF 120 |
You’re taxed on CHF 1,800 of income and get CHF 470 back, offset against your taxes or paid out. Economically, you only pay your normal income tax on the full CHF 1,800.
Two variations:
- Smaller US distribution: at USD 600 gross, the withholding tax is USD 90, or CHF 72. That’s below CHF 100, so there’s no DA-1. You’re then taxed on CHF 480 minus CHF 72, so CHF 408.
- US ETF at a Swiss bank with additional retention: of USD 1,000, USD 700 lands in your account. You credit the 15% US tax through the DA-1 and get the other 15% back in full with the R-US application.
Where to get the documents
The easiest option is an electronic tax statement (E-Steuerauszug). It’s a PDF with a barcode in the Swiss eCH-0196 standard that you import into your canton’s tax software. Depending on the canton, the import also fills in the DA-1 and R-US data. Don’t enter positions from an imported statement a second time by hand.
| Provider | What you get | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive Brokers | Annual and activity statement, dividend report with withholding tax, Form 1042-S for US income. No Swiss electronic tax statement | Free |
| Swissquote | Electronic tax statement to import, ordered on the website under My Account, Documents, Statement request, Tax return, currency CHF | CHF 85 for Trading, CHF 25 for Invest Easy |
| Charles Schwab | Form 1042-S with US dividends and withholding tax, plus account and portfolio statements | Part of your account documents |
| PostFinance | Electronic tax statement for E-Trading, ordered in E-Trading under Documents, from late February | CHF 97.30 per statement |
| Yuh | Electronic tax statement on request, withholding tax certificate free | CHF 25 |
| Neon | Electronic tax statement for neon invest, account and Spaces | No additional cost |
Without an electronic statement, you enter the positions yourself. You’ll find the tax values on 31 December and the income in the ESTV price list (ICTax).
Is the paid statement worth it? With a handful of ETFs, entering the positions yourself is quick. With many individual shares and dividends from several countries, CHF 85 at Swissquote saves time and typos. At IBKR, take the dividend report and the 1042-S, at Schwab the 1042-S and your account statements, and enter the figures yourself. For which broker suits you otherwise, see my broker comparison.
Common mistakes
- Declaring net instead of gross. The amount credited to your account isn’t the income. If you enter CHF 650 instead of CHF 1,000, you understate your income. The correct entry is CHF 1,000 income and CHF 350 withholding tax.
- Leaving out small interest. The CHF 200 threshold only applies to the withholding tax deduction. Every account with interest and a balance still belongs in your tax return.
- Assuming your broker files the DA-1. You do that yourself with your tax return.
- Entering all of the German withholding tax in the DA-1. Only 15% is creditable. You reclaim the 11.375% above that from Germany, or it’s lost.
- No valid W-8BEN. Then the US keeps 30% instead of 15%.
- Trying to credit an Irish ETF’s US withholding tax. The fund pays it, not you.
- Forgetting accumulating ETFs. Even without a payout there’s taxable income you have to declare.
- Entering positions twice. Adding the same positions by hand after importing an electronic tax statement.
Can you reclaim the withholding tax later?
Yes, if you negligently forgot an income and report it while the assessment isn’t final yet. The same applies in a revision or supplementary tax procedure that’s still open. So report the income to your tax office as early as possible. If you left it out deliberately, the withholding tax is lost. You can also file a DA-1 later, within the three-year deadline.
Do you have to declare interest below CHF 200?
Yes. The threshold only means the bank doesn’t deduct withholding tax. You still pay income tax on the interest and wealth tax on the balance. For where your savings currently earn good interest, see my savings account comparison.
From what portfolio size is the DA-1 worth it?
The threshold depends on the withholding tax, not on the portfolio value. With 15% US withholding, you need more than about CHF 667 of gross dividends from treaty countries a year. At an assumed dividend yield of 1.5%, that’s a little over CHF 44,000 in US ETFs. Below that, you deduct the withholding tax from the income.
Is the DA-1 the same as the R-US form?
No. With the DA-1 you credit foreign withholding tax that the source country is allowed to keep. With the R-US you reclaim the additional retention a Swiss bank withheld on US dividends. Some cantons combine both in one form.
Conclusion: Swiss withholding tax and the DA-1
The Swiss withholding tax costs you nothing if you declare every account and every position gross. With US dividends, don’t skip the DA-1. My recommendations:
- You have Swiss shares, Swiss ETFs or accounts with interest: list everything gross in the securities list. The 35% comes back with your tax bill.
- You have US ETFs at IBKR or Schwab: keep your W-8BEN current and file the DA-1 as soon as your withholding tax for the year exceeds CHF 100.
- You have US shares at a Swiss bank: check your dividend statement for the additional retention and reclaim it with the R-US, even for small amounts.
- You have German shares: 15% through the DA-1. The remaining 11.375% is only available through an application in Germany.
- You have many positions at a Swiss bank: the electronic tax statement is worth it. With a few ETFs, entering the figures yourself is faster.