Anlage KAP step-by-step: filing foreign capital income in Germany for 2026

You're a German resident holding US RSUs at a US broker. You vested last year. You sold some shares this year. You received dividends. Your German broker did NOT withhold Abgeltungsteuer because they didn't see the transactions. Now Anlage KAP is the form that drags all of this into the German tax system — and getting it right matters because misfiling triggers Steuerfahndung scrutiny on foreign capital income.

The 30-second answer: German residents must file Anlage KAP to declare foreign capital income (US dividends, US stock capital gains) where Abgeltungsteuer wasn't automatically withheld by a German bank. Report gross dividend in Zeile 19, foreign WHT in Zeile 41, realised gains/losses in Zeile 23/24. Claim Sparer-Pauschbetrag (€1,000 single / €2,000 married) in Zeile 15. US 15% WHT credit caps at German 26.375% liability. Don't tick Günstigerprüfung (Zeile 4) unless your marginal rate is below 25%. Vorabpauschale on accumulating ETFs is reported separately by your broker on Steuerbescheinigung — manually compute if held abroad.

Reading this in the run-up to your 2025 German tax return? Self-filing deadline is 31 July 2026; with Steuerberater, 30 April 2027. This piece is part of our Germany residents with US RSUs hub.

The German capital-income tax structure

Before the form mechanics, the underlying rules:

• Abgeltungsteuer: flat 25% on capital income (Kapitalerträge), plus 5.5% Solidaritätszuschlag (Soli) on the tax = effective 26.375%
• Plus Kirchensteuer (church tax) if you're a registered church member: 8% (Bayern, BW) or 9% (everywhere else) on the Abgeltungsteuer → effective ~27.6%-27.99% with church tax
• Sparer-Pauschbetrag: first €1,000 (single) / €2,000 (married) of capital income tax-free per year (from 2023)
• Verlustverrechnung: losses on capital assets can be netted within same Steuertopf (loss bucket); stock losses ONLY against stock gains (special restriction)
• Foreign tax credit: US WHT creditable against German Abgeltungsteuer up to the German tax owed on same income

For RSU holders, the typical flow is: vest taxed as Lohnsteuer (employment income) — this is Anlage N, not KAP. Subsequent dividends and capital gains on the vested shares are Kapitalerträge — these go on Anlage KAP.

Who must file Anlage KAP

File Anlage KAP if any of these apply to your 2025 calendar year:

Trigger	Why file
Foreign-broker dividends or gains	Abgeltungsteuer not automatically withheld → must self-declare
German broker but want to use foreign WHT credit	Optional — German broker handles WHT but you may want to optimise
Marginal income tax rate below 25%	Tick Günstigerprüfung — apply lower marginal rate to Kapitalerträge
Net loss for the year	Establish loss carry-forward via Verlustverrechnungstopf
Multiple brokers — split Sparer-Pauschbetrag	Optimise allowance allocation manually
Held ETFs (Vorabpauschale calc)	Verify or correct Vorabpauschale reporting

For most German-resident RSU holders using a US broker (Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity), Anlage KAP is mandatory — no German bank is between you and the dividend or gain to apply automatic Abgeltungsteuer.

The form structure (2024 tax year version)

Anlage KAP has multiple sections. The lines relevant for US RSU holders:

Section 1: Allgemeines (General)

• Zeile 4 — Günstigerprüfung: Tick if you want the tax office to apply your overall marginal income tax rate (rather than flat 26.375%) to your Kapitalerträge. Do not tick if your marginal rate is above 25%.
• Zeile 5 — Kirchensteuerabzug: Confirm whether church tax should apply (auto-populated based on Lohnsteuerklasse)

Section 2: Inländische Kapitalerträge (Domestic capital income)

For US RSU holders with no German-broker positions, leave blank or report only the Sparer-Pauschbetrag claim.

Section 3: Ausländische Kapitalerträge (Foreign capital income)

This is the core section for US-broker users.

• Zeile 18 — Foreign capital income (dividends, interest): Gross US dividends received, converted to EUR at the European Central Bank reference rate on payment date. Don't deduct US WHT here — show gross.
• Zeile 19 — Davon ausländische Dividenden: Subset of line 18 that's specifically dividend income (vs interest).
• Zeile 20 — Veräußerungsgewinne aus Aktienverkäufen: Realised gains from US stock sales. Compute in EUR: (sale price × EUR/USD on sale date) − (cost basis × EUR/USD on acquisition date). Report only the gain (positive number).
• Zeile 21 — Veräußerungsverluste aus Aktienverkäufen: Realised losses from US stock sales. Same formula, report as positive number. These offset only stock gains (not dividends).

Section 4: Steuerermäßigungen (Tax credits)

• Zeile 41 — Anrechenbare ausländische Steuer: US WHT paid on dividends. From your US broker's 1042-S form, sum the federal income tax withheld. Convert to EUR.
• Zeile 42 — Nicht angerechnete ausländische Steuer: US WHT paid but in excess of the recoverable amount (e.g., if 30% withheld instead of treaty 15%). This is non-recoverable.

Section 5: Verlustabzug (Loss carry-forward)

• Zeile 50-52: If you had losses in prior years carried forward via Verlustverrechnungstopf, apply them here.

Worked example: a 2025 tax year filing

A Munich-based software engineer at a US tech company:

• 2025 US stock dividends: $1,200 → €1,100 at average EUR/USD rate
• US WHT on dividends: $180 (15% via W-8BEN) → €165
• 2025 US stock sales: sold 100 NVDA at $140 (basis $80 from vest in 2023). Gain = $6,000 → €5,500 at sale-date rate. Loss on Schwab realised: $0.
• No prior loss carry-forward.
• Single, no church.
• Marginal income tax rate: 42% (Spitzensteuersatz) on €120K Lohnsteuerlich earnings.

Anlage KAP filing:

Zeile	Description	Amount
4	Günstigerprüfung	NOT ticked (marginal 42% > 25%)
15	Sparer-Pauschbetrag	€1,000
18	Foreign capital income (gross)	€1,100 (dividends) + €5,500 (gain) = €6,600
19	of which dividends	€1,100
20	Stock sale gain	€5,500
41	US WHT credit	€165

Tax owed computation:

• Taxable Kapitalerträge = €6,600 − €1,000 Sparer-Pauschbetrag = €5,600
• Abgeltungsteuer = €5,600 × 25% = €1,400
• Soli = €1,400 × 5.5% = €77
• Total before credit = €1,477
• US WHT credit (capped at German tax on dividends): German tax on dividend portion (€1,100 − €1,000 of Sparer-Pauschbetrag = €100 net) × 26.375% = €26.38. So €26.38 credit (capped).
• Net German tax owed: €1,477 − €26 = €1,451

Note: the Sparer-Pauschbetrag was largely absorbed by dividend income, leaving most of the €5,500 stock gain fully taxable. The US WHT credit is small because the dividend was already mostly sheltered by Sparer-Pauschbetrag — there was little German tax on the dividend portion to credit against.

Common Anlage KAP mistakes for US-broker users

Mistake 1: Forgetting Anlage KAP entirely. German tax authorities receive automatic data exchanges from many jurisdictions (including the US via FATCA). They know about your Schwab account. Not declaring foreign capital income is increasingly easily caught.

Mistake 2: Using wrong EUR/USD conversion rate. German tax law requires use of ECB reference rates on transaction date for capital income. Don't use the rate your broker shows — use ECB. Document each conversion.

Mistake 3: Reporting net of US WHT. Always report gross dividend in Zeile 18/19 and US WHT separately in Zeile 41. Net reporting leaves you under-taxed (which sounds nice but is wrong and triggers audit risk).

Mistake 4: Ticking Günstigerprüfung when at high marginal rate. If your overall income puts you above 25% marginal rate, Günstigerprüfung makes your Kapitalerträge tax rate WORSE, not better. Only tick if you're genuinely below 25% (low income, retirees, students).

Mistake 5: Losing the stock loss restriction. Realised stock losses can only offset realised stock gains — not dividend income. If you have €5K dividend income and €5K realised stock loss, you still owe Abgeltungsteuer on the €5K dividend, and the stock loss carries forward only to future stock gains. This is harsh but correct.

Mistake 6: Missing Vorabpauschale on accumulating ETFs. If you hold US-domiciled accumulating ETFs (rare but possible), the German Vorabpauschale calculation is your responsibility. For Ireland-domiciled accumulating ETFs (CSPX, VUAA), most German brokers compute and report Vorabpauschale automatically — but foreign brokers may not.

Vorabpauschale: the accumulating-ETF tax

Germany taxes accumulating ETFs (those that don't distribute dividends but reinvest internally) via Vorabpauschale — a presumed annual income calculation.

Formula (annual):

• Vorabpauschale = ETF value on 1 January × Basiszins × 70%
• Basiszins is the German federal bank reference rate (2.55% for 2024)
• Net result for 2024: ~1.785% × Abgeltungsteuer 26.375% = ~0.47% of ETF NAV per year

This is taxed annually even though you don't realise the gain. It's added to your Kapitalerträge in Anlage KAP Zeile 19.

When you eventually sell the ETF, the accumulated Vorabpauschale already paid is credited against the realised gain. So Vorabpauschale is an acceleration of tax timing, not double taxation.

Practical impact for German RSU holders: if you took US stock proceeds and bought CSPX or VWCE (Irish-domiciled global accumulating ETFs) inside a Depot at a German broker, the broker handles Vorabpauschale automatically. If you bought VUAA at an Ireland-based broker (DEGIRO, Trading 212), the German broker doesn't see it — you must compute and declare Vorabpauschale yourself on Anlage KAP.

Cross-references

• Germany residents with US RSUs: complete tax + filing guide — the parent guide covering Lohnsteuer, Abgeltungsteuer, US-DE Treaty
• Germany markets and RSU tax hub — quick reference + related deep dives

Bottom line

Anlage KAP is the German tax form that captures foreign capital income — US dividends, US stock capital gains, accumulating ETF Vorabpauschale. For US-broker users, it's mandatory. The mechanics: report gross dividend in Zeile 19, gain in Zeile 20, US WHT credit in Zeile 41, claim Sparer-Pauschbetrag in Zeile 15. Don't tick Günstigerprüfung at high marginal rate. Watch the stock-loss-only-offsets-stock-gain restriction. File on time (31 July 2026 self-filing) and document EUR/USD rates with ECB references. German tax authorities increasingly audit foreign capital income — clean Anlage KAP filing is the cheapest insurance.