Your DA-1 was refused: what to do next (2025)

Key takeaways

• Read the stated reason first. Most refusals are correct, and arguing one costs you the 30 days you need for a refusal that is not.
• A smaller credit is usually not a mistake. Your debt interest and asset-management costs come off the foreign income before the cap, and that alone can remove most of it.
• Three ceilings apply in order: your own deductions come off the income first, then the Swiss tax on that income, then your total Swiss income tax for the year.
• One refusal is worth arguing: that the Switzerland–US treaty does not cover funds. Article 10(2)(b) names Regulated Investment Companies and puts them at the treaty rate.
• Three clocks, not one: 30 days to object, 30 days to ask for the difference on the tariff method, and three years from the end of the tax period to claim at all.

First: is the refusal correct?

Work through these before you write anything.

Reason given	Correct?	Where it comes from
Total non-recoverable foreign tax of CHF 100 or less	Yes. The credit is granted only once the total exceeds CHF 100	SR 672.201 Art. 7
The source country took no tax, or one you can reclaim in full	Yes. The credit exists only for foreign tax actually levied and actually non-recoverable	SR 672.201 Art. 1(2); leaflet DA-M §4
Income declared net of the foreign tax	Yes. It must be declared gross	SR 672.201 Art. 3(2)
The income is not subject to Swiss income tax	Yes. The credit only offsets Swiss tax actually payable on that income	SR 672.201 Art. 3(1)
Credit capped at the Swiss tax due on that income	Yes. The first of three ceilings	SR 672.201 Art. 8(2)
Credit cut down by your deductions	Yes. Debt interest and other costs come off the income first	SR 672.201 Art. 11(1)
Credit capped at your total Swiss income tax for the year	Yes. A second, separate ceiling	SR 672.201 Art. 9(5)
No evidence of the tax withheld	Yes, for now. Send the documents and it usually resolves	ESTV form DA-1, closing note
30% withheld because no W-8BEN was on file	Yes, for the part above the treaty rate: that part is reclaimable from the US, so it is not "non-recoverable"	SR 672.201 Art. 8(2)
Wrong year	Yes. The claim runs by the due date of the dividend	ESTV form DA-1, note 1
The treaty "does not apply to mutual funds"	No. See below	Treaty Art. 10(2)(b)
Additional US retention claimed on a non-Swiss broker	Yes. Only a Swiss intermediary ever levies it	SR 672.933.61 Art. 11
No reason given at all	No. A decision that does not fully grant the claim must state its reasons	SR 672.201 Art. 17(2)

Why a correct claim still comes back smaller

Three ceilings apply one after the other, and only the second is widely known.

1. Your deductions come off the income first. The federal leaflet's own example takes a gross dividend of CHF 2,410, subtracts CHF 1,383.15 of apportioned debt interest and CHF 248.75 of asset-management costs, and pays a claim of CHF 361.50 at CHF 140.10. Nothing in that filing was wrong. It is why Zurich's form 430 opens by asking for your debt interest, total assets and asset-management costs, and why a reader with a mortgage should expect it.
2. The credit cannot exceed the Swiss tax on that income.
3. The credit cannot exceed your total Swiss income tax for the year. A part-year resident, or anyone with little Swiss tax to set the credit against, is stopped here instead.

The refusal worth challenging

If a refusal on a US-domiciled ETFETFExchange-traded fundA fund that trades on an exchange like a single share. For Swiss tax the wrapper matters less than what it does with income: a fund that pays dividends out and one that reinvests them are taxed on the same income, but only one of them hands you the cash.Where you see itOn your broker statement, and in the price list the tax office values it from.Open in the glossary → says the Switzerland–US treaty "does not apply to returns on mutual funds", the treaty text says otherwise.

Article 10(2)(b) caps US tax on dividends at 15 percent of the gross amount for a Swiss-resident beneficial owner, then adds: "Subparagraph b) and not subparagraph a) shall apply in the case of dividends paid by a person which is a resident of the United States and which is a Regulated Investment Company." That is the US tax classification a US-domiciled fund or ETF usually holds. So the treaty does not ignore funds: it names them, and puts them at 15%.

Your assessor works in German, so quote the German authentic text: "Auf Dividenden, die von einer in den Vereinigten Staaten ansässigen Regulated Investment Company gezahlt werden, ist Buchstabe b) und nicht Buchstabe a) anzuwenden." It is SR 0.672.933.61 Art. 10 para. 2, linked under Sources.

What to send

1. Proof of the tax withheld. A 1042-S, or the broker's year-end report showing gross dividend and tax withheld per position and per pay date.
2. The security's identity. ISINISINInternational Securities Identification NumberThe twelve-character code that identifies one security worldwide, such as IE00B4L5Y983. It is how the tax office matches what you declare to its own price list, and how two funds with near-identical names are told apart.Where you see itOn every broker statement, beside each holding, and in the securities schedule.Open in the glossary → and ticker, so the assessor can look it up.
3. Your own summary. One page listing each position, gross dividend, tax withheld, and the total. An assessor who has to rebuild your figures from raw statements is more likely to refuse again.

Send it to the office that issued the decision, quoting the reference and the tax year. A phone call first often establishes what they are actually missing.

Accept: these refusals are correct

• Total non-recoverable foreign tax of CHF 100 or less
• No source-country tax, or one you can reclaim in full
• Income declared net instead of gross
• Credit reduced by your own debt interest and costs

Reply: these are worth the effort

• The treaty "does not apply to mutual funds"
• A refusal that names no reason at all
• No evidence; send the documents and it usually resolves
• Additional US retention on a Swiss intermediary

You have 30 days. Spend them on a CHF 100 refusal and you no longer have them for one worth arguing.

The clock

Three deadlines apply, and people mix them up.

Thirty days to object. The credit decision may come with your assessment or on its own, so the 30 days run from notification of whichever document carried the refusal. The window does not pause while you gather documents. In Zurich the objection is an EinspracheEinspracheObjectionFRréclamationITreclamoA formal challenge to an assessment decision, due within 30 days of notification. Miss it and the assessment becomes final in almost all cases.Where you see itThe deadline is printed on the assessment decision itself.Open in the glossary →, against an EinschätzungsentscheidEinschätzungsentscheidAssessment decision (Zurich wording)Zurich's own name for the binding decision setting your taxable income and wealth. The same document the federal law calls a Veranlagungsverfügung, and the same 30-day objection window runs from it.Where you see itThe heading on the decision Zurich sends after it has reviewed your return.Open in the glossary → (assessment decision; federal tax and most other cantons call it a VeranlagungsverfügungVeranlagungsverfügungAssessment decisionFRdécision de taxationITdecisione di tassazioneThe canton's binding decision on what you owe, which may differ from what you filed. Receiving it starts your 30-day objection window.Where you see itArrives by post, often a year or more after you file.Open in the glossary →).

Thirty days to ask for the difference. A canton may work out the maximum on its own tariff rather than the federal method. If the federal method would have given you more, you can claim the difference in writing within 30 days. This request is a separate right from the objection.

Three years to make the claim at all. The right lapses three years after the end of the tax period in which the dividends fell due, so a claim never made for 2025 can still be made until the end of 2028.

1. 1Dividend falls dueduring 2025
2. 2File the DA-1DA-1Foreign withholding tax claim formFRformulaire DA-1 (imputation d'impôts étrangers prélevés à la source)ITmodulo DA-1 (computo di imposte alla fonte)The form that claims back the foreign tax already withheld on your foreign dividends and interest. It is filed with the securities schedule, and only once your total non-recoverable foreign tax passes CHF 100.Where you see itA separate sheet attached to the Wertschriftenverzeichnis in the tax software.Open in the glossary → with your 2025 returnthe claim lapses three years after the end of the tax period, so by 31 December 2028
3. 3Credit decision arrives, refused or reducedwith the assessment, or on its own
4. 4Object in writing30 days from notification of whichever document carried it
5. 5Ask for the difference on the tariff method30 days, and only where the canton used its own tariff

More on that in what the silence means.

Common questions

Why was my DA-1 rejected?

Usually the CHF 100 floor, no reclaimable foreign tax, no evidence attached, or dividends declared net rather than gross. The stated reason normally names which. A credit that came back smaller rather than refused is a different matter: that is your own deductions being subtracted from the income first.

My tax office says the treaty does not cover ETFs. Is that right?

No. Article 10(2)(b) sets 15% on dividends and says expressly that this rate, not the 5% company rate, applies to a US Regulated Investment Company, which is what a US-domiciled fund or ETF usually is. Quote the article in German and attach the withholding evidence per position.

Sources

The sources below support the tax figures and rules discussed in this guide. Follow the links to check the original guidance and its scope.

1. ESTVESTVThe Federal Tax AdministrationFRAFCEidgenössische Steuerverwaltung: the federal tax authority. It publishes the forms, leaflets and price lists the cantons and your tax software work from, but it is not the office that assesses you: that is your canton.Where you see itNamed as the publisher on federal forms, leaflets and the Kursliste.Open in the glossary → — form DA-1, tax period 2025 (Antrag auf Anrechnung ausländischer Quellensteuern, application for the crediting of foreign withholding taxes); note 4 carries the CHF 100 rule — estv.admin.ch
2. Federal ordinance on crediting foreign withholding taxes, SR 672.201 — Art. 1(2) and Art. 3(1) (only income actually taxed at source and actually taxed in Switzerland), Art. 3(2) (gross declaration), Art. 7 (CHF 100 minor-case threshold), Art. 8(2) (cap at the Swiss tax), Art. 9(3)–(5) (cantonal tariff, the 30-day right to the difference, the total-income-tax ceiling), Art. 11(1) (deductions come off the income first), Art. 14(2) (three-year deadline), Art. 17(2) (a refusal must state reasons), Art. 18 and Art. 22 (remedies and revision follow VStGVStGThe withholding tax actFRLIAITLIPVerrechnungssteuergesetz: the act behind the 35% Swiss withholding tax on dividends and interest, and behind your right to reclaim it by declaring the income.Where you see itIn citations as VStG Art. 13 or similar, wherever the 35% rate is quoted.Open in the glossary → Art. 53–56 and 59–60) — fedlex.admin.ch
3. ESTV — leaflet DA-MDA-MThe leaflet explaining the DA-1 claimThe Federal Tax Administration's leaflet on crediting foreign withholding tax. Where the DA-1 is the form you fill in, this is the document that says when the credit is refused, how the ceiling is calculated, and what happens instead.Where you see itCited as the authority when a DA-1 claim is reduced or refused.Open in the glossary → on crediting foreign withholding taxes; §4 lists the grounds for exclusion and the net-taxation fallback, §5 the total-income-tax ceiling, and the annex works the deduction example through — estv.admin.ch
4. Switzerland–United States double taxation agreement, Article 10(2)(b) — the 15% dividend rate and the Regulated Investment Company sentence. English text of the convention — irs.gov; German authentic text, SR 0.672.933.61 — fedlex.admin.ch
5. ESTV — leaflet S-02.142 (March 2001, still the current edition at this address) on the additional US retention through Swiss Qualified Intermediaries, implementing SR 672.933.61 Art. 11 — estv.admin.ch
6. Canton Zurich — guidance notes to forms DA-1, DA-2 and DA-3, tax period 2025: gross declaration, the CHF 100 rule, the absence of any minimum for the additional US retention, and the three-year deadline — zh.ch
7. DBGDBGThe federal income tax actFRLIFDBundesgesetz über die direkte Bundessteuer: the act that governs federal income tax for the whole country. Almost every federal rule a guide cites comes from here, which is why the abbreviation appears so often beside an article number.Where you see itIn citations, as DBG Art. 33 or similar. French and Italian sources call the same act LIFD.Open in the glossary → Art. 132 — objection within 30 days; Art. 133(3) — a late objection where you were prevented from filing; Art. 135(1) — the office may reset all factors, after hearing you; Art. 147 — grounds for RevisionRevisionReopening a final assessmentFRrévision (d'une décision de taxation)ITrevisione (di una decisione di tassazione)The only route once an assessment is legally final and the 30-day objection window has closed. The grounds are narrow, and it is excluded where the error came from your own lack of care.Where you see itA request to the tax office, long after the assessment.Open in the glossary → — fedlex.admin.ch