When you hold your money as Stocks, you might have to pay tax on your earnings.
What you’ll need to pay depends on:
the tax laws in the countries you’re a tax resident in
how much money you’ve made or lost across all of your investments
Many countries require you to pay capital gains tax. Because the rules are different depending on where you live, it’s worth checking your local tax authority’s website to understand what you need to do.
How do I find out my taxable earnings on Stocks?
You can request a tax report to help you complete your tax return. Your report will show you what you might need to declare from your use of Stocks.
You can request your report 30 days after the tax year ends — in the UK, for example, it’s 30 days after 5 April. Once requested, you’ll need to wait up to 10 working days before we can share it with you. We’ll let you know when it’s ready to download.
To check if you can request a report, log in to your account on the website (it's not available on the app yet). Then follow these steps:
Go to the Account section
Select the balance or Jar you want to get the statement for
Select More in the top right corner and then Statements
Select Assets — annual tax statement
If you have any questions about your personal taxes or filing a tax return, please speak to a qualified professional. Wise can’t give you advice on your personal tax situation.
Using Stocks in Austria
This high-level guide is not a substitute for any consulting of your tax advisor. Wise can’t give you advice on your personal tax situation.
What taxes do I need to pay?
If you’re a tax resident in Austria, you may need to pay income tax depending on your income from the fund and from selling/redeeming shares in the fund at a flat rate of 27.5%.
In Austria, investment funds are considered transparent for tax purposes, regardless of the fund’s domicile.
You may not only pay tax on distributions from your shares in the fund, but also on realised gains on what wasn't distributed — like retained income or distribution-equivalent income. This may include dividends, interest, or capital gains on the level of the fund that weren’t distributed. Unrealised gains on the level of the fund will be taxed when you sell or redeem your shares in the fund — so keep track of your acquisition costs for tax purposes.
The amount of the yearly taxable gains depends on if the fund is reporting tax data to the Austrian notification office, the Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG – OeKB.
Learn if the fund you’re investing in is a reporting fund on OeKB
Reporting fund
You’ll find the relevant tax data per share for distributions and distribution-equivalent income in the tax report published on the OeKB web. This report also includes the amount to adjust your acquisition costs.
When selling or redeeming shares in the fund, the difference between the adjusted acquisition costs and the proceeds is taken as tax base.
Non-reporting fund
Distributions are fully taxable. Distribution-equivalent income is taxed on a flat basis — the estimated tax base amounts the higher of 10% of the net-asset-value (NAV) per share by the end of the relevant year, or 90% of the difference between the first and the last NAV in the year.
This tax base is relevant when adjusting your acquisition costs. When selling or redeeming shares in the fund, the difference between the adjusted acquisition costs and the proceeds is taken as tax base.
In general, the tax rate for capital income is 27.5 % flat tax. Losses may be offset against certain capital income in the same year, but not carried forward.
Capital income can be dividends, interest, distributions, distribution-equivalent income, and capital gains from the sale or redemption of shares.
If you don’t have an account with an Austrian bank withholding the income tax, you’ll need to report your income from the fund for every tax year in your annual income tax return.
Wise can’t give you tax advice. If you’re not sure about your personal situation and the taxes you need to pay, it’s worth speaking to a tax adviser or your local tax authority.
Sole trader
Sole traders using the product when not professionally trading with securities can reference this guide.
Using Stocks in Estonia
What taxes do I need to pay?
What you’ll need to pay mainly depends on:
tax laws of the countries you’re a tax resident in
how much money you’ve made or lost across all of your investments
Many countries require you to pay a kind of tax called capital gains tax. This is tax on investment gains you make each year.
The rules are different depending on where you live, so check your local tax authority website to understand what you need to do.
To report your tax in Estonia, you’ll need to submit a personal income tax return (Form A) to Estonian Tax and Customs Board every year.
Read more about how to submit your tax return
If you’re still not sure, speak to a tax advisor. Wise can’t give you advice on your personal tax situation.
The following items are important to consider
Realised gain/loss
As an Estonian tax resident, you only have to report the amount of realised gains, i.e. gains derived upon actually selling the shares of the fund you have chosen. You should also report your losses as those will reduce the total amount of annual gains that are going to be taxed. If your losses exceed gains, you can carry forward the excessive losses to next years and offset against future gains. Unrealised gains which reflect the change of the market value of the shares you own but haven’t sold, are not taxable.
Dividends
If you receive dividends, you should pay attention on whether any income tax has already been withheld on those or not. If no income tax has been withheld, you should report them on your annual income tax return and pay 20% income tax. If income tax has been withheld at source, you still have to report your income but you do not have to pay any tax in Estonia.
Interest
If you receive interest, you should also pay attention on withholding tax. If no tax has been withheld at source, you should pay 20% income tax in Estonia. If there is a withholding tax (usually 10-15%), you can credit this against your Estonian tax.
Using Stocks in Finland
Taxation of profit distributions
Accumulating shares
A capital gain or capital loss is realised when the shares are redeemed.
Calculation of the capital gain or loss
The amount of capital gains or losses is calculated by subtracting the purchase price of the shares and the expenses made in making a profit, such as subscription or redemption fees from the selling price of the shares.
The amount of gain or loss can also be calculated using the deemed acquisition cost method (hankintameno-olettama), which means:
if the fund share was owned for under 10 years, the deemed acquisition cost is 20% of the selling price; and
if the share was owned for at least 10 years, the deemed acquisition cost is 40% of the selling price.
When using the deemed acquisition cost method, other expenses can’t be deducted.
Capital gains and capital income are taxable at the current 30% rate. If the amount of capital gains or capital income of the investor exceeds 30,000 EUR annually, the exceeding amount is taxed at the current rate of 34%.
Capital losses on the fund sale shares are deducted from capital gains during the realisation year. If there are no capital gains, or if the income is lower than the capital losses that need to be deducted, the deduction will be done from the capital income of the investor. If there’s no capital income during the realisation year, the loss is carried over to the following 5 years.
Application of the FIFO principle
FIFO (First In – First Out) principle is applied to the sale of the fund shares. Under FIFO, fund shares purchased first will be disposed of first. The purchase prices of the sold shares will be deducted from the sales prices in the same order as the shares were acquired.
The tax on the profit share of a foreign investment fund is credited in Finland
When invested in a foreign fund, the country of the fund may levy taxes on the profit paid for the profit shares of the fund. This is usually due to the profit share being equated with dividend income in the country in question. In such cases, the tax is credited against the paid Finnish taxes. The investor needs to claim for this credit.
Reporting via tax return
The investor is liable to report the income or loss and the holdings to the Finnish Tax Administration on the annual tax return.
Sole trader
The taxation depends on if the fund shares are part of the business assets of the sole trader. If they’re not a part of the business assets, the income related to the shares is taxed for other private individuals.
Using Stocks in France
A French tax resident will be liable to pay capital gains tax on any realised gains on investments in a fund. This means that capital gains tax is not due until the fund units have been sold, exchanged, or transferred in any other way. The gain on the fund units is calculated as the difference between the selling price and the acquisition price. Any incidental costs of sale may be included in the calculation price.
Capital gains in France are subject to CGT tax at a flat rate of 12.8%. This could be increased to 19% if the fund is mainly composed of real estate assets, and if the CG exceeds 50,000 EUR then additional surtax may apply. It's also subject to social charges at a flat rate of 17.2% — a total of 30%, and 36.2% in case of real estate assets.
French tax is payable on interest and dividends distributed to French tax individual at a 12.8% rate, and social contribution of 17.2% — a total of 30% flat tax. An option for the income progressive tax rate could be made by the individual.
Sole trader
Sole traders are subject to business taxation, and can't reference this guide.
Using Stocks in Germany
For private investors, the German withholding tax rate on investment income from funds is 25% plus an additional 5.5% solidarity surcharge, so 26.375%.
Income from investment funds can be in the form of:
distributions;
advance lump sums (“Vorabpauschale”); and
realised gains from the redemption or sale of fund units.
These income forms may be subject to a partial tax exemption (“Teilfreistellung”) depending on the investment scope of the investment fund.
The following partial exemption rates are to be applied on all income from the respective funds of German tax residents: For example, 30% of the income arising from an equity fund investment would be exempt from tax. Distributions are taxable upon receipt in the year of the payment day.
| Fund Category | Partial tax exemption rate |
|---|---|
| Equity funds | 30% |
| Mixed-assets funds | 15% |
| Domestic real estate funds | 60% |
| Foreign real estate funds | 80% |
The advance lump-sum (“Vorabpauschale”) reflects deemed income from a fund in the case where minimal or no distributions have been made from the fund. This ensures that a de-minimis level of tax applies to a fund investment, taking the basic interest rate and performance of the fund into account. This is only relevant where the value of the fund has increased, and no distributions have been made. For example, if the fund's performance was negative, the advance lump-sum isn't applicable.
Realised gains/losses from funds arise on:
a sale or redemption of existing holdings in funds units; or
fictitious sales of investment funds due to fund mergers, fund liquidation or changes in applicable partial tax exemptions.
The realised gain or loss is calculated as the difference between the proceeds from the sale; after deducting expenses directly related to the sale transaction; and the acquisition cost, including any expenses directly related to the purchase. In addition, already taxed advance lump-sums are deducted from the taxable realised gain or loss, and any applicable partial tax exemption is applied.
Please note:
There is no difference between how interest held in the different fund types is taxed (for example, equity vs. fixed income vs. MMFs). The only difference in taxation would be based on the partial tax exemption rate.
Using Stocks in Luxembourg
From a Luxembourg tax perspective, generally speaking, we need to consider the following income categories from individual investment in a fund:
Interest (as investment income); and/or
Dividends (as investment income); and/or
Capital gains (as miscellaneous income).
Interest and Dividends
Interest and Dividend income is taxed at the progressive tax rates (up to 45.78%, excluding the 1.4% dependency contribution).
A withholding tax (WHT) could be applied in certain circumstances. If any WHT is levied by the distributing entity, it should be creditable against your personal income tax liability in your tax return.
Capital gains
Short-term gains
A gain in an investment fund is considered short-term if the period between acquisition and sale is no more than 6 months.
Short-term speculative gains aren't taxable if the total of taxable gains derived during the year is lower than EUR 500, otherwise such gains are taxed at progressive income tax rates.
Long-term gains
A gain in an investment fund is considered long-term if the period between acquisition and sale is greater than 6 months.
Long-term capital gains are taxed at half the individual’s global tax rate. However, the income from the sale of certain assets (such as shares kept longer than 6 months) is tax exempt, provided the taxpayer doesn't hold – directly or indirectly – a significant share in the company. A significant share is more than 10% of the capital at any moment during the 5 years preceding the sale.
The first 1,500 EUR of investment income, including that from dividends and other investment sources, is exempt from individual income tax in Luxembourg. For couples filing a Luxembourg income tax return together, the first 3,000 EUR is exempt.
In the event the received dividend income or similar distribution is paid by a fully taxable business resident in a European Union Member state or a state that has concluded a tax treaty with Luxembourg, the Luxembourg individual's income tax will be levied on 50% of the gross amount of said dividend at progressive tax rates.
Please note:
Generally, there is no difference between how interest held in the different fund types is taxed (for example, equity vs. fixed income vs. MMFs).
A sole trader, meaning an individual holding a business in their own name without any corporate vehicle or legal entity, is taxed as an individual.
In Luxembourg, there is no difference between an Irish or Luxembourg fund other than that the Irish fund potentially involves withholding tax. Any tax withheld would be creditable against Luxembourg tax.
Using Stocks in the Netherlands
If you’re a tax resident in the Netherlands, you may need to pay personal income tax on your investments.
Dutch income boxes — box 3
The Dutch personal income tax system is divided into 3 different income categories, or “boxes”. Box 3 of the Dutch personal income tax category taxes income from savings and investments. Earnings from bank cash deposits and from using Stocks with Wise are likely to be taxed in box 3. No separate capital gains tax is due.
Income reported in box 3 is taxed at a flat rate of 31% based on an annual deemed return on investment. The deemed return is calculated based on the fair market value on 1 January of the financial year of all assets minus liabilities — “net assets”— that are taxed in box 3. The first 50,650 EUR of net assets is exempt from tax (101,300 EUR for tax partners). With respect to foreign dividend income, foreign withholding taxes are partly deductible.
Actual earnings from Stocks through Wise, such as capital gains and dividends, aren't taxed. Only the deemed income in box 3 is taxed, whether or not your actual earnings exceed the deemed return. The deemed return in box 3 increases based on the total value of net assets in box 3.
Changes to box 3
In December 2021, the Dutch supreme court ruled that the current box 3 taxation system is unlawful and not in line with EU law. So the tax system will change to a system that taxes the actual annual return on investments, with the change likely to take effect from 2025.
During the transition period, the box 3 taxation will be changed by allocating the deemed return into 3 classes: savings, other investments and liabilities. Each class is supposed to generate a deemed return/cost which will generate a total deemed income. Please note it currently remains unclear how the temporary system and the future system will work out exactly.
Reporting your box 3 income
You’ll need to submit a Dutch personal income tax return for the relevant financial year with the Dutch tax authorities. The fair market value on 1 January of most box 3 assets must be reported to the Dutch tax authorities by financial institutions within the EU, such as Wise.com and banks.
The needed information should already have been included in your pre-completed tax return. The fund manager BlackRock will publish it between April and September each year. We’ll share it with you, and you’ll need to check or include it when you report your tax.
Using Stocks in Norway
If you're a tax resident in Norway, you must report both income (distributions and any capital gains) as well wealth (the tax value of units owned) as part of your annual income tax return. As Wise doesn't report tax details directly to Norwegian tax authorities, the relevant tax data won't form part of your pre-completed tax return. The taxation of income will depend on the type of fund that you own and the proportion of equity/fixed income of the fund.
Capital gains (and losses) related to shares don't form part of the business income for a sole trader and is taxed similar to that of an individual.
For more information, see this guidance from the Norwegian tax authority.
Using Stocks in Singapore
Depending on your circumstances, you might need to pay tax after the gain from the disposal of units — this is because you're a business customer that is not a sole trader resident in Singapore.
As a general guide, if you're investing in Stocks with us as a passive investment, the gain may be determined as a capital gain and isn't taxable in Singapore. If you're in the business of trading investments, the gain that you derive from the disposal of units may be revenue in nature, and taxable.
Sole trader
A sole trader is generally taxed as an individual in Singapore, but special rules apply if the investments aren't held passively — like operating as a securities trader.
If you're not sure if your sole trade is in the business of investing, please speak to a tax adviser or your local tax authority. Wise can’t give you tax advice.
Using Stocks in Spain
Taxes that tax residents of Spain pay when investing in Blackrock Global Index Funds
Spanish resident individual investors might have to pay taxes on their earnings, as well as on any income that the fund makes.
What you’ll need to pay depends on:
The Autonomous Community where you live in Spain, meaning the place where you stay for more time in comparison to other Autonomous Communities within the Spanish territory.
The amount of financial income and capital gains and losses accrued during the Spanish tax year.
Income from investment funds is generated when shares are sold, by the difference between their sale value and the purchase value. For distributing funds, income is also generated when receiving dividends.
If the funds you're investing in are regarded as Qualifying funds for Spanish tax purposes and therefore aren't transparent for tax purposes, distributions and capital gains on the disposal or redemption of units are taxable in your Spanish tax return as savings income and taxed from 19% to 26%.
Spain has a specific self-assessment method to submit and pay the relevant taxes, which must be reported every tax year to the Spanish tax authorities before the end of June of the following calendar year. Learn more about how to submit your Self Assessments at GOB.ES (Tax Agency: Personal Income Tax and Tax Agency: Wealth Tax).
Please note: sole traders can't rely on this advice and are likely to be taxed as a business.
Using Stocks in Sweden
Swedish tax residents will be liable to pay capital gains tax on any realised gains on investments in a fund. This means that capital gains tax isn't due until the fund units have been sold, exchanged, or otherwise transferred. The gains on the fund units are calculated as the difference between the selling price and the acquisition price including any cost of the sale. The current tax rate levied on capital gains is 30 percent.
Tax is also due on a standard income amount calculated on the basis of the invested capital in a fund. The capital base that is subject to taxation is the invested amount at the beginning of the calendar year. The standard income is then 0.4 percent of the capital base. The standard income amount that should be reported in the tax return is then taxed at a tax rate of 30 percent. This means that the effective tax rate is 0.12 percent of the amount invested at the beginning of the year. The standard income amount should be calculated using the value of the assets, in SEK, as of January 1.
Finally, distributions from a fund that are provided in the form of cash or new units in the fund are taxed when the distribution is received by the individual. Distribution of new shares is recognized at the market value of the shares on the date of the distribution. The applicable tax rate is 30 percent of the distributed value.
All taxes in Sweden will be levied in Swedish krona (SEK). This means that when calculating the capital gain, the acquisition price should be calculated using the current foreign exchange rate at the date of acquisition. The same applies when calculating the selling price or tax on any distributions. The current foreign exchange rate at the date of the transaction should be used.
The above applies even if Wise were to use an Irish or Luxembourg Money Market Fund, assuming that the Irish funds would have been UCITS funds before Brexit and no terms or conditions have been changed.
A sole trader using the product passively will be taxed as above and not as business income.
Using Stocks in the UK
If you’re a tax resident in the UK, as well as capital gains tax, you'll also need to report your share of any income that the fund makes. This will be in the form of a dividend or interest, depending on the underlying assets of the fund.
You may need to pay income tax. It depends on the amount, your circumstances, and any UK annual allowances that apply. We’ll share this information with you, and you’ll need to include it when you next report your tax.
Learn how to report tax in this guide on offshore funds from KPMG
To report your tax, you’ll need to submit a Self Assessment tax return to HMRC every tax year.
Learn how to submit your Self Assessment at GOV.UK
If you’re still not sure, speak to a tax advisor. Wise can’t give you advice on your personal tax situation.
What tax information does Wise collect?
When you start using Stocks with us, we’re required to ask where you’re a tax resident. This means the country where you usually live and pay tax.
Depending on where you live, we might also ask for your tax identification number.
Does Wise share tax information with anyone?
We’ll only share your tax information with relevant government tax authorities if we need to. This is so Wise complies with international tax standards like the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) or the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
Information we might share includes where you're a tax resident, information about your gains and losses, and the amounts of money in accounts that you hold as Interest or Stocks.
We have to share this information because we’re a regulated financial institution, and we need to comply with international tax law.
You’ll still need to report your tax information and pay any taxes that might be due.
How can I get more advice about my tax obligations?
Wise can’t give you tax advice. If you’re not sure about your situation and the taxes you need to pay, it’s worth speaking to a tax adviser or your local tax authority.