How long is a W-8BEN valid?

Until the last day of the third calendar year after the year it was signed, unless the information on it changes. The IRS gives the example of a form signed on 30 September 2015 that remains valid through 31 December 2018. Each withholding agent, which usually means each broker, needs its own form.

From what amount is DA-1 worth it?

The credit is available only once your non-refundable foreign taxes exceed CHF 100 in total. With US dividends alone, that is the case above CHF 666.67 gross a year. Below that, you declare the dividend net of the US tax in the ordinary Wertschriftenverzeichnis.

What is the additional US tax retention?

A Swiss bank that, as Qualified Intermediary, receives US dividends at 85% of the gross amount must retain 15% of the gross dividend. You get it back like the Swiss withholding tax, with form R-US 164 or in the Wertschriftenverzeichnis, within 3 years after the end of the year it fell due.

What happens without a W-8BEN?

The broker may then deduct 30%. DA-1 credits only the treaty rate of 15%; the difference of 15% of the dividend can only be reclaimed from the IRS with Form 1040-NR. A W-8BEN given before the first payment avoids this route.

Calculators

US withholding tax calculator (Switzerland)

What is left of a US dividend, and what comes back through W-8BEN, DA-1 and the additional Swiss retention.

US dividends are taxed at source. How much of it comes back in Switzerland depends on three things: whether the treaty rate was applied (W-8BEN), whether a Swiss bank keeps the additional tax retention, and whether your non-refundable foreign taxes exceed the CHF 100 threshold for form DA-1.

Inputs

Gross dividend in CHF

The amount before any tax is deducted, converted into francs.

Where are the US shares held?

Swiss banks with Qualified Intermediary status keep an additional tax retention on US dividends (ESTV leaflet S-02.142).

Treaty rate applied (15% instead of 30%)

With a broker abroad this requires a valid W-8BEN. Generally each broker needs its own form.

Non-refundable withholding tax from other countries in the same year (CHF)

Counts towards the CHF 100 threshold, which applies to all non-refundable foreign taxes together.

Marginal income tax rate in % (optional)

Federal, cantonal and municipal combined, without church tax. 0 means no estimate of the Maximalbetrag.

Paid out

CHF 1,700.00

of CHF 2,000.00 gross

US withholding tax

CHF 300.00

15% of the gross dividend

Creditable via DA-1, at most

CHF 300.00

Non-refundable US tax: CHF 300.00

From gross to net · After refund and credit

CHF 2,000.00

before Swiss income tax on this income

Gross dividend: CHF 2,000.00
US withholding tax: -CHF 300.00
Paid out: CHF 1,700.00
Credit via DA-1 (at most): CHF 300.00

Gross declaration with DA-1

Anyone claiming the credit is taxed on the gross income, here CHF 2,000.00. You file DA-1 in the canton where you lived on 31 December, together with the tax return, the Wertschriftenverzeichnis and the bank vouchers. The claim lapses if it is not filed within 3 years after the end of the tax period.

Maximalbetrag

The credit is at most the Swiss income tax on this income: after a pro-rata share of debt interest and costs, computed separately for the Confederation and for canton and municipality, without church tax. The cantonal tax office calculates it.

W-8BEN: how long it is valid

A W-8BEN remains in effect until the last day of the third calendar year after the year it was signed, as long as the information stays correct. The IRS example: signed on 30 September 2015, valid through 31 December 2018. Generally each withholding agent needs its own form.

What this calculation assumes

A dividend from a US company to an individual resident in Switzerland who is not a US person. US persons who provide Form W-9 have no additional retention; that case is not modelled.
Rates: 30% without treaty documentation, 15% under the double taxation treaty (Art. 10(2)), additional tax retention 15% under ESTV leaflet S-02.142.
Not modelled: special rules for RIC and REIT dividends, interest, and the lower rate for companies with a qualifying holding.
All amounts in CHF; conversion from US dollars is not part of the calculation.
The cantonal tax office calculates the Maximalbetrag. The estimate here is an upper limit, not an assessment.

Not tax advice. The calculator applies the rates from the treaty and the official leaflets to your inputs. The cantonal tax office determines the Maximalbetrag and your assessment.

Sources (retrieved on 24 October 2026)

Note: These calculators are for information only and are not investment advice. Content on Brokaro is for information purposes only and is not investment, legal or tax advice.

How this is calculated

Three rates

Without treaty documentation the US deducts 30%. With a valid W-8BEN, residents of Switzerland are taxed at the treaty rate of 15%. A Swiss bank acting as Qualified Intermediary receives the dividend at the treaty rate and retains an additional 15%; you get that additional retention back like the Swiss withholding tax (Verrechnungssteuer).

What DA-1 credits

Switzerland credits the reduced US tax of 15% against income tax. The condition: your non-refundable foreign taxes exceed CHF 100 in total. You are then taxed on the gross amount, and the credit is at most the Swiss tax on that income (Maximalbetrag). Below the threshold there is no credit; you declare the income net of the US tax.

What only the IRS refunds

If the full US tax was deducted, the difference to the treaty rate can only be reclaimed in the United States, with Form 1040-NR. A US refund is generally limited to 3 years. DA-1 does not help with it.