Free foreign dividend check · 2025/26 and 2026/27

Tax on foreign dividends, worked out

Dividends from abroad are taxed in the UK too, and the tax already taken off abroad only counts up to the treaty rate. Enter your dividends by country to see the UK tax, the credit you get, any tax to reclaim abroad and whether you need a tax return.

Calculator checked against GOV.UK and HMRC rules on (how we check).

Tax year

Pay, pension, rent and interest, before tax. Your P60 or pension statement shows it

Outside an ISA. Your broker's annual tax statement shows it. Leave empty if none

Foreign dividends, by country

In pounds, before any foreign tax, from shares outside an ISA. Your broker's annual tax statement lists each dividend and the tax taken off; use the pound amounts it shows, or convert at the rate on the day paid. Add together the dividends from one country.

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US shares: is a W-8BEN on file with your broker?

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How the check works

  1. UK tax on all your dividends. Foreign dividends are taxed at the same UK rates as UK ones, on the amount before foreign tax, and share one £500 allowance.
  2. Credit for tax taken abroad. Foreign Tax Credit Relief is the lower of the foreign tax (no more than the treaty rate, for example 15% for the US and 10% for the Netherlands) and the UK tax on those dividends.
  3. The rest. Tax taken above the treaty rate can't be credited by HMRC: you ask the foreign tax authority or your broker to refund it.

Treaty rates we've checked: United States 15%, Ireland 15%, Germany 15%, France 15%, Netherlands 10%, Switzerland 15%, Canada 15%, Australia (unfranked) 15%. For other countries we show the figures without the treaty limit. An estimate, not tax advice.

What the check works out, with an example

Foreign dividends are taxed in the UK at the same rates as UK dividends, on the amount before any foreign tax was taken off. They share the one £500 dividend allowance with your UK dividends, and they sit on top of your other income in the same way. The foreign country has usually taxed them already. Foreign Tax Credit Relief then lets you set that foreign tax against the UK tax on the same dividends, but only up to the rate in the tax treaty between the UK and that country, and never more than the UK tax on those dividends.

Some countries take more than the treaty rate at source. HMRC will not credit the extra. You claim it back from the foreign tax authority, often with help from your broker. For US shares, a W-8BEN form on file with your broker normally limits the US tax to the 15% treaty rate in the first place.

Foreign dividends usually mean filling in the Foreign pages (SA106) of a Self Assessment return if your dividends are over the £500 allowance, and that is also where the credit is claimed. Have your broker's annual tax statement to hand: it lists each dividend, the tax taken off and usually the sterling amount.

Example: three countries in 2025/26

The figures

Other income of £62,000, UK dividends of £1,200, and dividends from the United States (£3,000, with £450 US tax), the Netherlands and Switzerland (£600, with £210 Swiss tax). The US tax is exactly the 15% treaty rate, so all of it can be credited, up to the UK tax on those dividends (£450.00 credited). Switzerland took 35%, more than its 15% treaty rate, so £120.00 cannot be credited by HMRC and has to be reclaimed in Switzerland. After all credits, the UK tax still to pay on the dividends is £1,101.25.

Every figure here is worked out by the same code as the calculator, using 2026/27 rates unless another year is named. Estimates for planning, not tax advice.

Before you run the check

  • Use the amount before foreign tax. Entering the net amount understates both the income and the credit.
  • Convert at the right rate. Use the sterling amount on your broker's statement, or the exchange rate on the day each dividend was paid.
  • Leave out ISA holdings. Dividends inside an ISA are not taxed in the UK, and foreign tax taken from them cannot be credited.

Official sources (checked 25 October 2026)

Reviewed by the UKDividendTaxCalculator team.

Every figure is checked against current HMRC and GOV.UK guidance and reviewed for the 2026/27 tax year. We explain the numbers in plain English with worked examples. Editorial standards · About us