It’s that time of year again…
Investors holding cross-border securities, take heed: statutes of limitations (SOL) in many markets will expire at year-end, so time is running out to submit claims to recover over-withheld tax. As the document and data gathering process can take several months, we recommend reviewing your portfolio holdings now to see if any unclaimed entitlements are approaching their SOL.
If you don’t take urgent action, rightful entitlements will be forever forfeited to the foreign tax authority.
The chart below summarizes the statutes of limitations in select markets for individual investors resident in the United States. Please note that the SOL in “End of Year” markets extends to the end of the year in which the payment was made (i.e. December 31, 2018). By contrast, the SOL in “Pay Date” markets only extends to the dividend pay date of the local share (e.g. if the dividend was paid November 15, the SOL would terminate on that day).
| Country | Impacted Events
(Year of local dividend pay date) |
Statute of Limitations* | End of Year (EOY) or Pay Date (PD) Market? |
| Austria | 2013 | 5 years | EOY |
| Belgium | 2014 | 4 years | EOY |
| Canada** | 2012 | 6 years | EOY |
| Denmark | 2015 | 3 years | PD |
| Finland | 2013 | 5 years | EOY |
| France | 2016 | 2 years | EOY |
| Germany | 2014 | 4 years | EOY |
| Ireland | 2014 | 4 years | EOY |
| Japan | 2013 | 5 years | PD |
| Netherlands | 2013 | 5 years | EOY |
| Norway | 2013 | 5 years | EOY |
| Portugal | 2016 | 2 years | EOY |
| South Korea | 2013 | 5 years | PD |
| Spain | 2014 | 4 years | PD |
| Sweden | 2013 | 5 years | EOY |
| Switzerland | 2015 | 3 years | EOY |
| Taiwan | 2013 | 5 years | PD |
* To allow for processing time, local market agents may have deadlines earlier than those listed above.
** The SOL in Canada is 2 years EOY, but may be extended to 6 years EOY.
Disclaimer: The above is not legal advice. Investors are urged to consult their own counsel and accountants to determine which statutes of limitations and reclaim opportunities are applicable.