Qualified Intermediary (QI)

In order to help counter tax evasion from the United States, the United States Internal Revenue Service (the «IRS») introduced in 2001 the Qualified Intermediary («QI») Regime. It includes the rules governing the taxation and the reporting of U.S. incomes received by any person through a non-U.S. financial intermediary acting as a QI, such as a bank, broker or asset manager.

The purpose of the QI agreement signed by the QI with the IRS, is to identify persons investing in U.S. securities through foreign intermediaries, ensure the correct application of the double taxation treaties concluded with the United States, in particular the applicable withholding tax rate. In this context, QIs are subject to responsibilities such as the identification of their clients, the correct application of the withholding tax rates and the annual reporting to the IRS.


Please refer to the FAQs below for more details. This notice is for information purposes only and should not be interpreted as advice of any type, especially of a fiscal nature. It may be changed at any time, particularly following a change in the law or in the practice of the relevant authorities.

Important

If you have any questions about your general tax situation or need advice about the implications for you under QI, please refer to your tax advisor, since we neither advise our clients on tax matters nor recommend external tax advisors or put them in touch (no external hotline). If you have any questions on the information which we request from you for the purposes of QI, our Customer Care Centre is available to assist you.

FAQs

Replies to the most frequently asked questions can be found here.