Country file · US
Potential · highUnited States: recover the withholding tax on your dividends
Every dividend paid from this country loses 30% to withholding tax at source. The tax treaty caps it at 15% for a French resident. The 15-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.
30%
Statutory rate
withheld from non-residents by default
15%
Treaty rate
for a French resident
15 pts
Recoverable gap
3 years
Statute of limitations
from the payment date
Your deadline to act
3 years
As a general rule, 3 years from the withholding date to file a refund claim with the IRS (simplified: the exact computation depends on the return filing date).
Compute my exact deadline →The procedure in practice
- Form
- 1040-NR
- Competent authority
- IRS (Internal Revenue Service)
- 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 →
Data reviewed on 15 June 2026 · Indicative amounts — every claim is verified before filing.
Specifics
What you should know about this country
- The main lever is preventive: a valid W-8BEN with your broker cuts withholding from 30% to 15% at payment time (relief at source).
- After-the-fact recovery mostly covers periods with no valid W-8BEN in place, or misapplied rates.
- A W-8BEN expires at the end of the third calendar year after signature: a missed renewal silently reverts you to the full rate.
- ADR depositary fees are separate from withholding tax and cannot be recovered through this route.
Claim documents
The documents required
What we gather with you. Most of these can be requested online or produced from your brokerage statements.
- Valid W-8BEN form (or W-8BEN-E for an entity)
- Brokerage statements showing dividends and tax withheld
- Certificate of tax residence from your country of residence
- An ITIN in some after-the-fact refund scenarios
Resources
Go further
- Problems & risks10 min read
Withholding tax: what your broker won't tell you
Neither incompetence nor conspiracy: withholding-tax recovery is simply not your broker's trade. How to check your statement in five minutes, the exact questions to ask them — and the many cases where they are entirely sufficient.
- Comparisons8 min read
FiscalPlace vs your broker: who actually recovers your withholding tax?
Your broker applies the withholding — it doesn't recover it. What custodians actually do, where WTax and GlobeTax fit on the institutional side, the cases where you need nobody at all — and the full comparison table.
- 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.
- Cost & pricing10 min read
The W-8BEN explained: complete instructions (and why we charge €49 for a free form)
The W-8BEN is free at the IRS. A line-by-line tutorial to complete it yourself, the traps, expiry and renewal — and the specific cases where our €49 fixed fee (indicative price) earns its keep.
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