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Help Center - StashAway

Help Center

All dividends of US-listed securities (regardless of whether the assets were bought through StashAway, or via your own broker) are subject to a 30% dividend withholding tax and the QII (Qualified Interest Income) rule. The latter rule applies to US-domiciled funds, especially US government bonds, of which some of the dividend withholding taxes can be claimed back.  
The WHT is held at source and the rest of the dividends are redistributed back to your portfolio(s) and reinvested automatically. Additionally, these taxes are held at source and would have already been deducted from the dividend payments shown on your 'Transactions' tab. Under the QII (Qualified Interest Income) rule, some of the dividend WHT from US domiciled funds (e.g. US government bonds) can be claimed back. Our broker will do this on your behalf and there is no involvement on the customer's part. We will do this once a year, and will notify you via email if you have any claimable WHT, which would be redistributed to your portfolio and automatically reinvested. For further illustration, you may like to view <a href="https://www.ishares.com/us/literature/tax-information/qualified-interest-income-qii-percentages-2020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this year's iShares report on QII ETFs</a>. Some examples of QII <a href="https://www.stashaway.sg/r/stashaways-etf-selection" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ETFs that StashAway invests</a> in are 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) and 10-20 Year Treasury Bond (TLH). Our investment team has given serious consideration to the 30% WHT and have considered other exchanges that have lower or no withholding tax. However, at the end of the day, we have decided to stay with US-listed securities despite the tax implications due to its deep liquidity, reputable fund management and most importantly, the lower tracking error. If you're interested to see a comparison between US-listed securities and foreign securities, <a href="https://www.stashaway.sg/r/etf-taxes-returns-and-tracking-errors" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a> is an article that presents its case.  
 
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Do my dividends get taxed?

For non-US tax residents, a 30% withholding tax (subject to QII rule) is applied on all dividends earned. 
 
Capital gains are taxed according to tax regulations of the country of your tax residency. A statement issued by StashAway at the end of the year can be used for your tax filing. We recommend that you consult a tax advisor for tax-related questions.

How do the securities in my portfolio get taxed?

<div class="wysiwyg-text-align-justify" dir="ltr">If you invest in US assets directly as an individual, the estate tax regulation applies. For our customers, the ownership is indirect as StashAways' legal entity (Asia Wealth Platform Pte Ltd) is the one that holds the assets and fractionalize them for our customers. Because of this structure, our clients should not be subject to this estate and gift tax. </div>
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 With that said, unfortunately, we do not and are not able to provide tax, legal or accounting advice.</div>
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<div class="wysiwyg-text-align-justify" dir="ltr">*This is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be tax, legal or accounting advice and should not be relied upon as such. We recommend that you consult your tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction."</div>

Am I subject to Estate Tax?

Capital gains are taxed according to tax regulations of the country of your tax residency. A statement issued by StashAway at the end of the year can be used for your tax filing. We recommend that you consult a tax advisor for tax-related questions.
 
All dividends of US-listed securities are subject to 30% dividend withholding tax (subject to QII rule). These taxes are applicable as long as you own US-listed assets, regardless of whether the assets were bought through StashAway, or via your own broker. The WHT is held at source and the rest of the dividends are redistributed back to your portfolio(s) and reinvested automatically.

I have multiple tax residencies. How do I get taxed?

No, StashAway’s individual customers and resident corporations will not be subject to Singapore withholding tax on REITs, as per IRAS guidelines.
Should any tax be withheld, StashAway will reimburse its clients.

Is there any withholding tax on REITs in my Income Portfolio?

Questions relating to capital gains and dividend taxes on your portfolios