Form V2A: claiming DWT exemption on Irish dividends as a non-resident individual

Non-Resident Form V2A is the declaration an individual living outside Ireland signs so that an Irish company can pay dividends to them without deducting Dividend Withholding Tax (DWT). Revenue’s Tax and Duty Manual puts DWT at 25% on relevant distributions made by Irish resident companies from 1 January 2020, and the paying company has to deduct it unless it already holds a valid exemption declaration when the dividend is paid. The form on revenue.ie is dated “DWT Unit, August 2024” and carries the print code RPC018938_EN_WB_L_1.

V2A is not a Revenue application. The shareholder fills in Part 1, has their own country’s tax authority certify Part 2, and hands the form to whoever pays the dividend.

Who can use V2A, and which form a company or trust uses

The notes on page 2 of the form limit V2A to an individual who is neither resident nor ordinarily resident in Ireland for tax purposes and who is resident for tax in a “relevant territory”. A relevant territory is an EU Member State or EEA state other than Ireland, or a country with which Ireland has a Double Taxation Agreement; Revenue keeps the current treaty list on its tax agreements page. The individual must also be beneficially entitled to the dividends. Revenue’s page on exemptions for non-residents adds that the exemption is subject to the outbound payments defensive measures in Chapter 5 of Part 33 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, explained in Tax and Duty Manual Part 33-05-01.

Revenue publishes three non-resident forms, and the person claiming decides which one applies:

Irish resident shareholders who qualify for exemption use a different declaration, which Revenue’s manual calls Composite Resident Form V3. It is not covered here.

Shareholders in the United States who hold American Depositary Receipts have a separate simplified process. Revenue’s non-resident page asks them to contact the DWT Unit rather than use V2A for ADR dividends.

How to fill in V2A, field by field

The form has four pages. Pages 1 and 2 are the cover and the notes; everything that is filled in sits on page 3, split into Part 1 for the shareholder and Part 2 for the foreign tax authority. Page 4 repeats the instructions for Part 2. The marked page 3 shows the numbered areas used in the table.

Above the signature are four printed statements the shareholder signs up to: they are beneficially entitled to the dividends covered by the declaration; they are a “qualifying non-resident person” under Chapter 8A of Part 6 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 at the time of signing; a certificate from the named country’s tax authority is attached; and they will tell the “relevant person” in writing if they stop qualifying. Under that undertaking, a shareholder who becomes resident in Ireland, or moves to a country outside the EU, the EEA and Ireland’s treaty network, would fall outside the definition on page 2 and has to notify the payer.

Part 1 must be completed by the shareholder or by a person holding their power of attorney. Revenue allows the blank form to be photocopied for later declarations, but every declaration has to be signed and dated in ink so that it is an original.

Getting Part 2 certified by your tax authority

The page 4 instructions say Part 2 must be completed by the tax authority of the country where the shareholder is resident for tax. The officer certifies the country of residence and the tax reference number, signs, gives their rank, dates it and applies the official stamp. The form then goes back to the shareholder, who forwards it to the payer.

Some tax authorities do not sign foreign forms. In that case page 4 accepts a letter from the tax authority to the same effect, provided a translation of the letter into English comes with it. Revenue’s manual describes this as a certificate of residence from the tax authority in the country of residence, which Schedule 2A paragraph 8 of the Act requires for any non-resident declarant who is not a company.

How long the exemption lasts

Validity runs from the date the residence certificate in Part 2 is issued until 31 December of the fifth year after the year of issue. The form puts it as the year of signing plus five full calendar years. A certificate issued in March 2026 therefore covers dividends up to 31 December 2031. Revenue’s manual gives a maximum of six years, reached when a certificate is issued on 1 January.

The exemption does not roll over. Revenue’s non-resident page says the shareholder must renew it before the period ends to keep receiving dividends without DWT. Section 10.10 of the manual says the certificates have to be renewed at the end of the period for the shareholder to stay in a QI’s exempt fund.

If DWT has already been deducted

For DWT already withheld before the payer had a valid V2A, Revenue’s page on refunds for non-residents says a qualifying non-resident can claim a refund with the DWT refund claim form, and a certified DWT exemption declaration must accompany each claim. Page 1 of the refund claim form lists the other documents required. This is why page 2 of V2A asks the shareholder to keep a copy of the completed form.

Section 15 of the manual applies the four-year limit in section 865 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997: a claim for DWT withheld in one tax year must reach Revenue by the end of the fourth tax year after it. DWT on a REIT dividend is reclaimed on a separate DWT REIT claim form.