BZSt adds refund questionnaires for Australian, Liechtenstein, Dutch funds

Foreign investment funds claiming refunds of German Kapitalertragsteuer face questionnaires for four more cases: three jurisdiction-specific ones for funds domiciled in Australia, Liechtenstein and the NetherlandsBzstBzstBzst, plus one for funds falling under no treaty's specific provisions ("ohne DBA-Besonderheiten")Bzst. The Bundeszentralamt für Steuern lists the new Fragebogen Investmentfonds Australien, Liechtenstein, Niederlande and ohne DBA-Besonderheiten alongside the existing onesBzst for Luxembourg, Spain, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Funds from other jurisdictions still wait: further questionnaires are announced for a later date. An investment fund that receives the questionnaire for its jurisdiction should answer it in full, even where the same information was already submitted with the refund applicationBzst — complete answers allow faster, more targeted processing of the claim.

All existing questionnaire PDFs were replaced at the same time with smaller, accessible versions, with reduced file sizesBzst (France, for example, 272 KB before and 140 KB now) and several entries switched from "nicht barrierefrei" to "barrierefrei/barrierearm". Claimants should download the current version before filing rather than reusing a saved copy of a questionnaire.

The questionnaires serve the application-bound refund procedure of § 50c Absatz 3 EStGBzst for domestic capital income within the meaning of § 49 Absatz 1 Nr. 5 EStGBzst that is subject to withholding under § 43 EStGBzst. Only tax actually paid qualifiesBzst — whether through the withholding procedure or on the basis of a liability or supplementary assessmentBzst; mere registration or retention of Kapitalertragsteuer does notBzst. The refund application must be filed within four years after the end of the calendar year in which the income accruedBzst, and the period ends no earlier than one year after the tax was paidBzst; a more generous deadline in a Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen takes precedenceBzst. Attachments to the application are submitted exclusively through the BZSt online portal rather than by post or email; the refund application itself may also be made under the written procedureBzst. The supporting documents comprise principally the Steuerbescheinigung issued by the domestic paying agent and the Ansässigkeitsbescheinigung from the tax authority competent at the time of accrualBzst. Applications are handled in order of receipt, and only once the file is completeBzst; given processing times of over 20 months, status enquiries are not answered.

Funds claiming outside any treaty should note that § 44a Absatz 9 EStG does not help themBzst: for capital income accruing to a foreign corporation, association of persons or estate, that provision refunds two fifths of the withheld Kapitalertragsteuer and SolidaritätszuschlagBzst, but refunds to a foreign investment fund under it are excludedBzst (see § 7 Absatz 1 Satz 2 InvStG)Bzst. Fund refunds instead follow § 11 InvStGBzst — through the Betriebsstättenfinanzamt of the party liable to pay, or the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern for funds with limited corporation-tax liabilityGesetze IM Internet — on application within two years after the end of the fund's financial yearGesetze IM Internet, with Steuerbescheinigung and the payer's declaration that no refund was or will be made attachedGesetze IM Internet.

Legal basis: § 50c Absatz 3 and § 44a Absatz 9 EStG, and § 11 InvStG for fund refundsBzst; § 7 Absatz 1 Satz 2 InvStG excludes fund refunds under § 44a Absatz 9 EStGGesetze IM Internet.