Resources
Everything we get asked, answered in public
The questions you ask yourself before trusting us with a claim — price, problems, comparisons — deserve public answers, not a sales call.
Free to read, no sign-up. Every article shows the date of its last review.
Self-service
The fastest answers aren't articles
Before you read anything: four free tools give you a figure for your own situation, in minutes and without creating an account.
Free · no account
Refund simulator
Your dividends, the applicable treaty rates, our fee deducted: the recoverable net on your portfolio, country by country.
Open the tool
Free · no account
Deadline calculator
Every country writes off over-withholding once its deadline passes. Check what is still recoverable in your history — and what expires soon.
Open the tool
Free · no account
W-8BEN checker
An expired W-8BEN silently reverts your US dividends to the full rate. Your form's exact expiry date, in ten seconds.
Open the tool
Free · no account
Statement reader
Paste a dividend line as is: country, amounts and the rate actually applied are detected, then compared with the treaty. Instant verdict.
Open the tool
Pricing · 4
What it really costs
Our fee, the hidden costs of doing it yourself, and why this industry so often hides its prices: everything in figures.
- Cost & pricing
The true cost of doing nothing about withholding tax on your foreign dividends
"Doing nothing" isn't free: it's an over-withholding that expires at the statute-of-limitations date. The numbers behind inaction, the panel's shortest deadlines, and the success fee.
7 min read
- Cost & pricing
How much does it cost to recover withholding tax on foreign dividends?
Success fee, fixed fee or hourly billing: the market's three models, their real ranges, our marginal grid with four worked examples — and the hidden costs to hunt down, do-it-yourself included.
9 min read
- Cost & pricing
Why some providers never publish their pricing (and why we do)
Ostrich marketing applied to withholding tax recovery: the real reasons behind pricing opacity, what it costs the buyer, our published-grid bet — and its openly owned limits, numbers included.
8 min read
- Cost & pricing
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.
10 min read
Problems · 9
What can go wrong
Rejections, missed deadlines, lapsed W-8BEN forms: the real traps in recovery claims, and how we handle them when they happen.
- Problems & risks
US REITs: the real FIRPTA 21% trap — and why it almost never applies to you
A US REIT's capital gain distribution can be withheld at 21%, with no treaty reduction possible — except that almost every retail investor is protected by the 10% exception on publicly traded REITs. The verified mechanism, and who is genuinely affected.
9 min read
- Problems & risks
Synthetic vs physical replication ETFs: the withholding tax your statement will never show
A physical ETF bears withholding tax on its underlying dividends; a synthetic, swap-based ETF can largely avoid it. The verified mechanism (section 871(m), HIRE Act), its real cost, and why it isn't a recoverable claim either way.
8 min read
- Problems & risks
The EU's FASTER directive on withholding tax won't apply before 2030
The EU has adopted the FASTER directive to speed up withholding tax relief on cross-border dividends within the EU. It only applies from 1 January 2030: what it will change, what stays exactly as it is until then, and why waiting would cost you on dividends already paid.
8 min read
- Problems & risks
Tax residence certificate (Form 5000): why so many claims stall or fail
Almost every withholding tax recovery starts with the same document, Form 5000 — and it's often where claims get stuck. The five most common mistakes, and how to avoid them.
7 min read
- Problems & risks
French shares through a foreign broker: the two real mechanisms (and only one is recoverable)
A missing 12.8% advance payment (nothing to recover) or 'street name' custody at a US-linked broker (a real 25% over-withholding, recoverable via forms 5000/5001): two verified mechanisms, and how to tell which one you're in.
9 min read
- Problems & risks
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.
10 min read
- Problems & risks
The countries where there is nothing to recover (and why we tell you)
The UK, the Netherlands, France seen from abroad, US dividends under a valid W-8BEN, ETFs: the honest list of the zeros — from a provider paid on success only, with no interest in hiding them.
8 min read
- Problems & risks
Missed the statute of limitations: what happens (really)?
The honest answer: once the limitation period expires, the money is permanently lost — nobody can recover it, and beware of anyone claiming otherwise. Deadlines country by country, the 2-year Canadian trap, and how to rescue the years still open.
9 min read
- Problems & risks
The 7 most common reasons withholding tax refund claims get rejected
Missing certificate, unproven chain of custody, outdated form, missed deadline… The seven rejection grounds we actually encounter, how we prevent them — and what remains possible when a rejection lands anyway.
9 min read
Comparisons · 5
Us, your broker, or doing it yourself
Honest comparisons between your options — including when the best option is not us.
- Comparisons
Withholding tax: what Interactive Brokers, DEGIRO and Trade Republic actually do
Three verified tax mechanisms, sourced from each broker's own official documentation: Interactive Brokers' street-name custody, DEGIRO's residency condition, Trade Republic's qualified-intermediary status — and how to check your own.
8 min read
- Comparisons
W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or W-9: which form should you file?
Three IRS forms, three populations: non-US individuals, entities, and US persons — dual nationals included. The thirty-second decision, each form's effect on the 30% withholding, and the two most expensive mix-ups.
8 min read
- Comparisons
ETF domicile: Ireland or the United States — the withholding tax impact
A US-domiciled ETF is treated like a US share — recoverable if under-documented. An Irish UCITS ETF absorbs an invisible ~15% withholding that nobody can ever reclaim. The verified mechanism, and which one applies to you.
9 min read
- Comparisons
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.
8 min read
- Comparisons
Reclaiming your withholding tax yourself vs delegating: the honest comparison
Doing it yourself costs €0 in fees — but not zero hours or zero risk. A worked Swiss scenario for both routes, the hidden costs on each side, and the threshold below which we advise you not to pay us.
9 min read
Rankings · 3
The best claims to open
Countries, deadlines, recovery potential: rankings built on our country database, not on enthusiasm.
- Best in class
Which countries offer the best recovery potential for a French resident?
Finland, Ireland and Switzerland on top — the UK, the Netherlands and France at zero, and we say so. All 19 countries ranked by recoverable gap for an individual French resident, with each one's traps.
12 min read
- Best in class
The right refund form, country by country: the reference table
Modelo 210, Form 83, NR7-R, 276 Div.-Aut., 5000/5001… The form, the authority, the window and the filing channel for all 19 covered countries — all free from the administrations, table updated with our country database.
7 min read
- Best in class
Statute of limitations: how long you have to claim, ranked by country
From Canada and Portugal (only 2 years) to Austria, Sweden, Japan and Norway (5 years): claim deadlines ranked across all 19 covered countries — with both counting rules, the 31 December cliff, and the filing order that follows.
9 min read
Reviews · 1
Reviews & feedback
How we collect and verify client feedback — and where to read it.
Your question isn't on the list?
Ask us: answers are public by principle, and if yours is missing here, it will probably become an article. And if all you want is a figure for your portfolio, the simulator remains the shortest path.
No win, no fee · Pricing 100% public · FR / EN