German KESt + Soli
Lines 37 + 38German shares like SAP or Allianz held via IBKR: 26.375 % withholding = 25 % KESt + 1.375 % Soli. BubbleTax splits automatically and reports in lines 37/38, not line 41.
§ 32d Abs. 5 EStG · Anlage KAP line 41
Foreign Withholding Tax
How foreign dividend tax is credited against your German tax
When your US dividend stock pays out, the IRS already deducts 15 % at source. That tax isn't lost – the German tax office credits it against your Abgeltungsteuer under § 32d Abs. 5 EStG. But only up to the rate the relevant double taxation treaty (DTA / German: DBA) provides for. Below: what BubbleTax extracts from your IBKR export, how we calculate the creditable amount, and where it ends up on your Anlage KAP.
Example: $100 Apple dividend
How BubbleTax processes a US dividend
- 1.Gross per IBKRDividend booking, AAPL$100.00
- 2.ECB rate booking dayUSD→EUR0.9214
- 3.Gross in euros100 × 0.9214€92.14
- 4.US withholding tax 15 %FRTAX booking converted€13.82
- 5.DTA cap (US)15 % × €92.14€13.82
- =→ Anlage KAP line 41min(withholding tax, cap)€13.82
How the line-41 amount is built
Per dividend, BubbleTax handles five steps – so you don't have to match, convert or look anything up by hand.
- 01
Each withholding-tax booking is matched to its dividend. Even when gross and tax appear separately in the IBKR export, they end up paired correctly.
- 02
Amounts are converted to euros at the official ECB reference rate of the booking day – the method accepted by German tax authorities.
- 03
BubbleTax detects the source country of the dividend automatically – the prerequisite for using the right DTA rate.
- 04
The DTA cap of the source country is applied. You never get less credit than possible, but also never more – otherwise the tax office would push back.
- 05
Aggregated per tax year, ready for Anlage KAP line 41. A detail PDF with every single line is included as evidence.
Reading
From your IBKR export we pull gross dividend and withheld tax and convert both into euros.Capping
What's creditable in Germany never exceeds the DTA cap × gross dividend. The rest you could only reclaim directly from the source country.Reporting
The total creditable amount lands in Anlage KAP, line 41 ('Anrechenbare noch nicht angerechnete ausländische Steuern'). The detail evidence is included.DTA cap by source country
These rates are hard-coded in BubbleTax. The credit in Germany never exceeds the relevant DTA rate × gross dividend.
| Country | DTA cap | Note |
|---|---|---|
| USA | 15 % | Standard DTA. REITs withhold 30 % – see edge cases. |
| Canada | 15 % | Standard DTA |
| Switzerland | 15 % | Verrechnungssteuer 35 %; 20 % reclaimable via tax voucher |
| United Kingdom | 0 % | UK levies no withholding tax on dividends |
| Ireland | 0 % | Irish withholding tax not creditable in Germany |
| France | 15 % | withholding tax 25–30 %; excess reclaimable from French tax authority |
| Netherlands | 15 % | Standard DTA |
| Denmark | 15 % | Standard DTA |
| Japan | 15 % | Standard DTA |
| China | 10 % | Reduced DTA rate |
| India | 10 % | Reduced DTA rate |
| Israel | 10 % | Reduced DTA rate |
| Singapore | 0 % | No withholding tax on dividends |
| Hong Kong | 0 % | No withholding tax on dividends |
| Cayman / BM / KY | 0 % | No withholding tax levied |
The full cap table covers more than 60 countries. Default for unlisted countries: 15 % per OECD model treaty.
Edge cases we handle
Not every withheld tax is creditable – BubbleTax knows the most important exceptions:
Payments in lieu (PIL)
€0 creditableShares on loan during Stock Yield Enhancement → substitute dividend. Withholding tax not creditable (BFH on beneficial ownership, § 39 AO).
Countries without credit
DTA cap = 0 %Singapore, Hong Kong, Cayman, Monaco … any tax withheld there is not creditable in Germany.
US REITs
Cap at 15 %US withholds 30 % on REIT distributions. BubbleTax credits 15 %; the excess must be reclaimed from the IRS (W-8BEN procedure).
BubbleTax does not file source-country reclaims for you
The credit under § 32d Abs. 5 EStG happens entirely inside the German tax assessment. We prepare the correct line 41 of your Anlage KAP and provide the detailed evidence. A direct refund from the source country (e.g. the gap between 30 % US withholding tax and the 15 % DTA cap on REITs) is a separate procedure with the foreign tax authority and is not part of the tax report. For most private investors the DTA-compliant credit in Germany is sufficient.
Legal basis
§ 32d Abs. 5 Satz 1 EStG: foreign tax assessed and paid on foreign capital income, reduced by any reduction claim, may be credited – but at most 25 % per individual taxable item of capital income. § 32d Abs. 5 Satz 2 EStG additionally references the relevant DTA. § 34c EStG (which covers business income) is not applicable here. BubbleTax exclusively applies the private-investor logic of § 32d EStG – if you hold capital assets in business assets, please reconcile the report with your tax advisor.