Apply for a certificate of status for a reduction in tax on income from foreign investment funds
Description
Since 1 January 2018, foreign investment funds with their
- domestic equity revenues,
- domestic real estate income, and
- other domestic income
corporate income tax. If a foreign investment fund earns taxable income in Germany, it can apply for a status certificate. With this certificate of status, the investment fund can increase its
Reduce capital gains tax to 15 percent.
The Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) issues the status certificate for investment funds,
- where the management of the legal representative (usually a capital management company) is located abroad and
- whose income subject to corporation tax in Germany is subject exclusively to tax deduction
The following entities meet the requirements of an investment fund:
- Undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS)
- Alternative Investment Funds (AIF)
- undertakings whose number of investors is limited to one investor but which otherwise meet the requirements for an investment fund
- Corporations that are prohibited from carrying out operational business activities and that are not subject to or are exempt from income taxation
- Investment funds managed by AIF capital management companies
Investment funds must provide a certificate of status for
- each individual fund, or
- each sub-fund of an umbrella
apply for.
There is no need to apply for a separate status certificate for share classes.
The application for the issuance of the status certificate must be submitted in writing to the BZSt.
Hint:
Domestic investment funds apply for the status certificate at the local tax office.
Foreign investment funds whose income taxable in Germany is not subject to tax deduction in whole or in part also apply for the status certificate at the local tax office.
Only foreign investment funds whose income taxable in Germany is fully subject to tax deduction or which do not earn any taxable income in Germany apply for the status certificate from the BZSt.
Applications for the status certificate can be submitted:
- Investment fund
- where the management of the legal representative (usually a capital management company) is located abroad and
- whose income subject to corporation tax in Germany is subject to tax deduction.
- The following entities meet the requirements of an investment fund:
- Undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS)
- Alternative Investment Funds (AIF)
- undertakings whose number of investors is limited to one investor but which otherwise meet the requirements for an investment fund
- Corporations that are prohibited from carrying out operational business activities and that are not subject to or are exempt from income taxation
- Investment funds managed by AIF capital management companies
When applying for the status certificate, you must submit:
- Tax number (if already assigned)
- Serial number (if already assigned)
- in the case of an undertaking authorised to distribute collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) in Germany:
- corresponding notification from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) or
- BaFin-ID
- in the case of an undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS):
- UCITS passport (UCITS attestation)
- in all other cases:
- current investment conditions of the investment fund. If the investment conditions do not include the current name of the investment fund, you must additionally prove name changes by providing appropriate documentation.
- Application: the status certificate can be applied for retroactively for a maximum period of up to 6 months before the date of application (the receipt of the application is decisive)
- Validity of the status certificate: maximum 3 years, after which a new application must be submitted
Hint:
If the status certificate is not available at the time of the inflow of capital gains, the capital gains tax will be withheld in full. In this case, it is possible to apply for a refund retrospectively – subject to the 18-month period.
- for the issuance of the status certificate: usually 12 weeks
- Application: the status certificate can be applied for retroactively for a maximum period of up to 6 months before the date of application (the receipt of the application is decisive)
- Validity of the status certificate: maximum 3 years, after which a new application must be submitted
Hint:
If the status certificate is not available at the time of the inflow of capital gains, the capital gains tax will be withheld in full. In this case, it is possible to apply for a refund retrospectively – subject to the 18-month period.
- Objection
- Administrative court action
- Forms: yes
- Online procedure possible: no
- Written form required: yes
- Personal appearance: no
You must submit the application for the status certificate in writing to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).
- Download and fill out the application form from the Online Form Management System (FMS) of the Federal Finance Administration (BFINV).
- Print out the completed application form. The application form must then be submitted by
- a legal representative of the investment fund, or
- its authorized representative
be signed.
- Send the signed application form together with the other required documents by post to the BZSt office in Berlin.
- The BZSt will review your application. You may have to answer further questions or submit additional documents.
- If your application is approved, the BZSt will send you the status certificate by post to the address of the legal representative or authorized recipient given in the application form. In the other case, you will receive a rejection notice by post.
Hint:
Delivery of the status certificate abroad by post is only possible if this is permissible under international law. In some states, the BZSt is not permitted under international law to deliver status certificates by post (an up-to-date list of these states can be found on the BZSt website under "Questions and Answers - Formal"). In these cases, the indication of a domestic (German) receiving agent is mandatory.
Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
