Taxes by Country
24 questions
What's the effective tax rate on an equity ETF?
Roughly 18.46 percent, since the partial exemption makes only 70 percent of the income taxable.
What changes with a foreign broker?
There's no automatic tax withholding; the reporting obligation falls entirely on you.
Does Austria have an allowance like the German saver's allowance?
No. The capital gains tax applies from the first euro.
How much foreign withholding tax gets credited?
At most 15 percent under double taxation treaties, leaving 12.5 percent due domestically.
How are CFDs taxed?
As non-securitized derivatives, generally under the progressive income tax rate of 0 to 55 percent.
What's tax-free for retail investors in Switzerland?
Capital gains from private assets. Dividends and interest are taxable income.
What happens to the 35 percent withholding tax?
It's reclaimable if the income is correctly declared on the tax return.
Which criteria point to trading as a business?
Short holding periods, a high share of income, large transaction volume, derivatives, and debt financing.
How large is the annual allowance?
€10,000 per person, up to €15,000 if unused and carried forward over several years.
What applies to gains from before 2026?
They stay tax-free. The value as of December 31, 2025 counts as the cost basis.
Which taxes remain in place alongside it?
The stock-exchange tax on every transaction and 30 percent withholding tax on dividends and interest.
What makes up France's 31.4 percent flat tax?
12.8 percent income tax and 18.6 percent social contributions.
Why did the rate rise from 30 to 31.4 percent in 2026?
Because of a rise in the social-contributions component; the income tax share stayed the same.
When does the progressive rate pay off over the flat rate?
When your personal marginal rate sits below 12.8 percent, usually at very low income.
What changed for crypto gains in 2026?
The rate rose from 26 to 33 percent, and the previous €2,000 allowance was eliminated entirely.
What extra levy do foreign-broker users pay?
The IVAFE, an annual wealth levy of 0.2 percent on the average account value.
How does taxation of investment income differ from salary in Spain?
Investment income falls into a nationwide uniform savings base; salary is additionally subject to regionally varying surcharges.
How many tiers does the savings base have, and how do they work?
Five tiers from 19 to 30 percent, applied cumulatively like income tax, only to the respective portion.
Does a tax-advantaged holding period apply to Spanish investment income?
No, taxation is independent of how long you held it.
What is actually taxed under Box 3?
A notional, assumed return on wealth above the allowance, not the actual gain earned.
What happens if you actually earned nothing on your stocks?
You still pay tax on the assumed notional return for that category, unless you prove a lower actual return.
Since when can a lower actual return be claimed?
Since tax year 2025, under the so-called counter-evidence rule.