Key facts
| Item | Rate / rule |
|---|---|
| Germany - combined corporate rate | ≈30% (CIT + solidarity + trade tax) |
| Germany - withholding on outbound interest | Generally 0% |
| Hungary - corporate tax on the interest received | 9% |
| ATAD interest limitation | Net borrowing costs deductible up to 30% of EBITDA (de minimis up to €3m) |
| Netherlands - conditional withholding | 25.8% on payments to affiliates taxed ≤ 9% |
| Poland - pay-and-refund | Full withholding above PLN 2m per payer, relief by refund |
The mechanics
The structure needs three legs. First, a deduction in a high-tax country: interest is a business expense, so €1m of interest saves about €300,000 of German tax. Second, a clean exit: unlike dividends, most interest leaves Germany without withholding, and the EU Interest & Royalties Directive removes withholding between associated companies elsewhere in the Union. Third, a low-tax landing: 9% in Hungary means the group keeps the difference: about €210,000 per €1m of interest, every year.[2][8][3]
Lithuania shows the same pattern in miniature: its 10% withholding on interest to non-residents drops to 0% when the recipient company is established in the EEA or a treaty country - which is most lenders that matter.[6]
The rules that cap it
The spread survives, but the volume is policed from four directions. The ATAD interest-limitation rule caps deductible net borrowing costs at 30% of EBITDA, with a de minimis the directive sets at up to €3m. Transfer pricing requires the rate itself to be arm’s length; an inflated coupon gets repriced. Anti-hybrid rules kill deductions where the receipt is not taxed symmetrically. And source countries have begun adding their own tolls: the Dutch 25.8% conditional withholding on payments to low-taxed affiliates, and Poland’s pay-and-refund system, which withholds first on related-party passive payments above PLN 2m and asks questions later.[7][4][5]
What remains of the play
Within the caps, group financing from a low-tax member state is still ordinary, legal tax planning - real treasury operations with staff, capital at risk and market-rate loans are exactly what the rules leave room for. What no longer works is the empty version: a shelf company with one loan receivable and no people. Between the EBITDA cap, arm’s-length pricing and general anti-abuse rules, the spread only pays where the substance is real.[7]
Συχνές ερωτήσεις
Why does Germany not withhold tax on interest paid abroad?
By design: most interest paid to non-residents is simply outside German withholding, with exceptions for certain profit-linked and bank-paid interest. Dividends, by contrast, carry 26.375% withholding.
How much interest can actually be deducted?
Under the ATAD rule, net borrowing costs are deductible up to 30% of tax EBITDA, with a de minimis of up to €3m depending on the member state’s implementation. Anything above is carried forward, not lost - but the deferral erodes the arbitrage.
Which countries make the best group lenders?
On rates alone: Hungary at 9%, Bulgaria at 10%, Cyprus at 15% with no outbound withholding of its own. In practice the answer is wherever the group can put real financing functions - the rate matters less than the substance.
Τα διασυνοριακά αποτελέσματα εξαρτώνται από τη φορολογική κατοικία, τους κανόνες για τις ελεγχόμενες αλλοδαπές εταιρείες και την πραγματική οικονομική υπόσταση - μια δομή στα χαρτιά δεν αρκεί. Δείτε την αποποίηση ευθύνης παρακάτω.
Πηγές
Παραπομπές με αρίθμηση που αναφέρονται σε όλο αυτό το άρθρο. Οι νόμοι συνδέονται με κωδικοποιημένα κείμενα στο επίσημο μητρώο.
- Φορολογία νομικών προσώπων στη Γερμανία
- Νόμος περί Φόρου Εισοδήματος (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG)
- Νόμος περί φόρου εισοδήματος νομικών προσώπων (1996. évi LXXXI. törvény)
- Νόμος περί Φόρου Εταιρειών 1969 (Wet op de vennootschapsbelasting 1969)
- Νόμος περί Φόρου Εισοδήματος Νομικών Προσώπων (Ustawa o podatku dochodowym od osób prawnych), κωδικοποιημένο κείμενο
- Νόμος περί φόρου εισοδήματος νομικών προσώπων (Pelno mokesčio įstatymas), κωδικοποιημένο κείμενο
- Οδηγία κατά της φοροαποφυγής (ΕΕ) 2016/1164 - Άρθρο 4 περιορισμός τόκων
- Οδηγία για τους τόκους και τα δικαιώματα 2003/49/ΕΚ