Guides

A 30% withholding on US dividends is a paperwork accident, not a tax. China credits only the 10% treaty rate; the rest comes back from the IRS through Form 1040-NR.

The IRS instructions include a simplified procedure for exactly one person: the investor whose dividends were overwithheld. How to use it.

The 1042-S is the one document that proves what tax you actually paid on US dividends. Most investors never read it. Here’s how, box by box.

Brokers and filing services hint you might need an ITIN for US stocks. Most foreign investors don’t. Who actually does, and the exact path.

A Hong Kong resident’s $400 US dividend keeps $280: the US withholds 30% with no treaty to cut it, and Hong Kong adds nothing. The China treaty’s 10% does not cover you.

A Singapore resident’s $400 US dividend keeps $280: the US withholds 30% with no treaty to cut it, and Singapore adds nothing on its side. No filing, no credit, no way back; the 30% is final.

A German resident’s $400 US dividend keeps $340 while the €1,000 saver’s allowance holds, $298 once it is spent. A German broker settles the tax automatically; at a foreign broker the same tax runs through Anlage KAP.

The US keeps 15% of a UK resident’s $400 US dividend, and the £500 allowance often takes the UK layer to zero — $340 kept, nothing to file. Above the allowance, the credit, your band and an ISA decide.

Japan’s default takes a $400 US dividend down to $287. Filing the foreign tax credit gets it to $319, and a NISA gets it to $360. The full math on a $10,000 position.

Spouse not a US citizen? The unlimited marital deduction disappears, and a number takes its place: $194,000 a year in 2026. Form 709 above it; both donor tracks covered.