07.05.2026Federal tax office abolishes annual reporting requirement relating to dividend WHT exemption certificates
Information about past dividend distributions must now be made as part of the application process for an exemption certificate
The German federal tax office in a decree dated 30 March 2026 abolished the annual reporting requirement regarding past dividend distributions that applied to foreign shareholders due to the issuance of a dividend withholding tax (WHT) exemption certificate. Rather, information about past dividend distributions must be made as part of the application process for such exemption certificate.
Background
Germany applies a domestic 26.375% WHT on dividend distributions. In order to rely on a reduced or zero percent dividend WHT under an applicable double tax treaty (DTT) or the EU parent-subsidiary directive, a dividend WHT exemption certificate issued by the federal tax office to the foreign shareholder upon application must be available at the time of the dividend distribution. In order to obtain an exemption certificate, the foreign shareholder must submit extensive information and documentation in order to demonstrate that the conditions of the applicable DTT or EU parent-subsidiary directive (as well as the respective limitation-on-benefits clause or anti-treaty shopping rule of section 50d (3) of the Income Tax Code) are met. Once issued, the exemption certificate generally is valid for a five-year period (a three-year period applies for exemption certificates issued before 1 January 2025).
Dividend WHT exemption certificates for which the respective application was filed before 15 July 2025 were issued on the condition that the foreign shareholder submit an annual report by 31 May of the following year providing information about dividend distributions that were covered by the exemption certificate and received in the previous year (a “MURI report”). A report also had to be filed in cases where no dividends were received (a “nil report”).
Federal tax office decree
Pursuant to the decree, dividend WHT exemption certificates for which the respective application is filed on or after 15 July 2025 no longer include such reporting obligations. Instead, the foreign shareholder must include information about all dividends received from the respective German subsidiary within the preceding five years when applying for an exemption certificate. The decree abolishes such requirement even for existing exemption certificates that were issued on the condition of the annual dividend reporting where the application was filed before 15 July 2025. The abolition, however, does not apply where an exemption certificate has been issued in relation to investment income from shares held in collective or special custody that have been deposited into a separate subaccount with Clearstream Europe AG (generally referred to as “segregated holdings”). In these cases, the annual reporting requirement as described in the respective exemption certificate should still be applicable.
Comments
The abolition of this annual reporting requirement relating to dividend WHT exemption certificates is a welcome development and should reduce the administrative burden for affected foreign shareholders of German subsidiaries.
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