Glossary in 60 Seconds
Tax terms you’ve seen before – now they finally make sense. What’s a TIN? How does loss offsetting work? And who actually takes the tax when a dividend is paid?
TIN – Tax Identification Number
A unique ID used by tax authorities to match income, reports and filings to a person.
In Germany: Steuer-ID, in France: Numéro fiscal, in the U.S.: SSN or ITIN
Required in cross-border tax reports.
Loss Offsetting
If you lose money on one asset, you may be able to offset it against gains from another.
But: rules differ by country, by year, and even by asset class.
Timing and report structure are key here.
Withholding Tax
Tax deducted at the source – e.g. a company pays dividends, and part of it goes straight to the tax office.