Possibility of recovering the entire withholding tax paid in Poland for investment funds

Withholding tax, which is levied on income generated within Poland, such as interest from Polish government bonds and dividends, may be subject to refunds for certain foreign investment funds. Polish tax law allows exemptions from withholding tax for open funds (UCITS) and other types of funds that are not UCITS and are domiciled in an EU or EEA jurisdiction. The European Court of Justice's ruling extended this possibility to internally managed funds, removing the restriction to only externally managed funds.

Funds can reclaim withholding tax for payments made up to 5 years ago, representing a significant opportunity to improve financial performance and maximize profits from Polish investments.

What does this mean in practice?

If you are a manager of an investment fund with investments in Poland, we recommend checking the possibility of reclaiming paid withholding tax. Our team has practical experience in reclaiming withholding taxes from Poland and other EU countries. We are happy to help assess whether the ruling applies to your fund and, in collaboration with colleagues from KPMG Poland, process the tax refund application.