How to avoid Irish Withholding Tax on Shares?

[dingdong]

Hello

I hold a substantial number of old employer USD shares with IG index. The shares are domiciled in Ireland which withholds 20% tax from dividend payments

In my self assessment I am allowed to claim 15% of this as credit as that is all that is allowed for Ireland, so I'm effectively losing out on 5% of my dividends each year.

Does anyone have any advice on how to avoid this. Looking online I can get a letter stamped by HRMC and then try to claim a refund directly from the Irish tax office but it looks like a very long winded process that would then have to be repeated.

Are there any brokers that would take care of all this admin for me? (ie similar to how US withholding taxes can be easily avoided)?


Thanks

[pochisoldi]

You should be able to claim an exemption.

The information at https://www.revenue.ie/en/companies-and ... dents.aspx
says "The exemption is valid until 31 December of the fifth year following the year that exemption was issued. If the qualifying non-resident person wants the DWT exemption to continue, they must renew the exemption before the end of this period."

So it's a case of getting a form completed once every 5 years.

Also note that the form v2a states:
"Part 2 of the form must be completed by the tax authority...
... Where it is not practical for the tax authority to use the certificate of residence provided, a letter to the same effect from the tax authority will suffice, but a translation of such a letter into English must be provided."

Such a beast could be available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-a-certi ... -residence

[dingdong]

Thanks

Looking at the list of approved qualifying intermediaries there doesn't seem to be many of the usual UK firms there.

I suspect this means once I've got the form stamped by HRMC IG won't want anything to do with it, and I'd then have to try and reclaim the money myself from the Irish tax office?

[pochisoldi]

Thanks

Looking at the list of approved qualifying intermediaries there doesn't seem to be many of the usual UK firms there.

I suspect this means once I've got the form stamped by HRMC IG won't want anything to do with it, and I'd then have to try and reclaim the money myself from the Irish tax office?

Do what's needed and submit the form. For all you know the shares might be held in the name of a listed nominee company anyway, so all you are getting is whatever IG receives from their QI/AWA.

If you've already suffered withholding then it might be worth going down the refund route first - I get the impression that a refund application triggers the issue of a 5 year certificate to the relevant QI/AWA. If your attempt to get an exemption certificate directly through IG fails, then getting the Irish Revenue to "poke from the other side" might get the desired outcome.

Note that this is all based on supposition and Google, and I don't have any holdings subject to Irish tax.