Country file · JP
Potential · mediumJapan: recover the withholding tax on your dividends
Every dividend paid from this country loses 15.315% to withholding tax at source. The tax treaty caps it at 10% for a French resident. The 5.315-point gap is not lost money: it can be claimed back — with the right forms, within the deadline.
No win, no fee · Pricing 100% public · FR / EN
Example for €10,000 of gross dividends, French tax resident, before our success fee. Indicative amounts — every claim is verified before filing.
Technical file
The numbers that matter
Both rates, the gap, the form and the time you have left: everything that decides whether a claim is worth opening.
15.315%
Statutory rate
withheld from non-residents by default
10%
Treaty rate
varies with residence — detail below
5.315 pts
Recoverable gap
5 years
Statute of limitations
from the payment date
Your deadline to act
5 years
5 years from the day after the payment date, as a general rule.
Compute my exact deadline →The procedure in practice
- Form
- Form 1 (relief) / refund claim via the paying agent
- Competent authority
- National Tax Agency (NTA)
- Online filing
- No
- Relief at source
- Yes
Relief at source prevents the over-withholding before it exists: the correct rate is applied at payment time. See the relief-at-source service →
Treaty rate by country of residence
The rate you owe depends on the treaty between this country and your country of tax residence.
- France
- 10%
- Belgium
- 10%
- Luxembourg
- 10%
- Switzerland
- 10%
- Other treaty country
- 15%
Data reviewed on 15 June 2026 · Indicative amounts — every claim is verified before filing.
Specifics
What you should know about this country
- The gap is modest (15.315% withheld vs often 10% owed for a French resident) but compounds quickly on a regularly distributing portfolio.
- The procedure runs through the Japanese paying agent and remains largely paper-based: a high-friction file that our automation absorbs, but slower than average.
- The statutory rate includes the reconstruction surtax (2.1% of the tax), hence the non-round 15.315%.
Claim documents
The documents required
What we gather with you. Most of these can be requested online or produced from your brokerage statements.
- Japanese treaty form stamped by your residence-country administration
- Evidence of the payment chain (the Japanese paying agent is a mandatory intermediary)
- Certificate of tax residence
Resources
Go further
- Best in class10 min read
Which countries offer the best recovery potential for a French resident?
Ireland, Switzerland and Sweden on top — the UK and the Netherlands at zero, and we say so. All 11 countries ranked by recoverable gap for an individual French resident, with each one's traps.
- Best in class9 min read
Statute of limitations: how long you have to claim, ranked by country
From Canada (only 2 years) to Austria, Sweden and Japan (5 years): the full ranking of claim deadlines — with both counting rules, the 31 December cliff, and the filing order that follows.
How much can you recover?
Two minutes, no sign-up: the simulator applies the rates above to your real amounts and shows our fee before you commit to anything.
No win, no fee · Pricing 100% public · FR / EN