Revolut and German Taxes — 2025 Filing Guide

1. The Revolut tax situation in Germany — split by product

Revolut is two distinct things for German tax. The product set you have decides which form to file and whether tax is withheld at source.

Revolut's Germany tax page identifies the investment-service provider as Revolut Securities Europe UAB, a Lithuanian investment firm authorised by the Bank of Lithuania, while separately identifying the German branch of Revolut Bank UAB for credit / payment / current-account services. The same page says investment income and capital gains may be taxable under local law and that customers are responsible for declaring and paying tax due (Revolut — Reporting taxes on my investments).

The split matters because the IAS savings product behaves like a German bank: Revolut documents that German Kapitalertragsteuer, Solidaritätszuschlag and (where applicable) Kirchensteuer are withheld on IAS interest before crediting, and the savings terms support a German Freistellungsauftrag up to €1,000 per individual (Revolut — Savings terms Germany; Revolut — IAS Freistellungsauftrag). IAS is therefore not a foreign-broker case. Investments through RSEUAB are.

2. What Revolut doesn't withhold for your investments

For Revolut Securities Europe UAB (RSEUAB) stocks, ETFs and Flexible Cash Funds, Revolut does not generally withhold or remit:

• 25 % Kapitalertragsteuer on capital income (§ 32d EStG).
• 5.5 % Solidaritätszuschlag.
• Kirchensteuer.
• Vorabpauschale for investment-fund units (§ 18 InvStG). Revolut's investment documentation does not show a German Vorabpauschale deduction.

Source-country withholding is a different matter. Revolut documents that U.S. dividend withholding for non-U.S. persons is generally 30 %, potentially reduced to 15 % under treaty based on W-8BEN information, and that EU stock / ETF dividends may have source-country withholding depending on origin (Revolut — Receiving dividends; Revolut — W-8BEN). Source-country tax is creditable in Germany via Anlage KAP line 41 if the conditions are met — it is not German tax.

You cannot apply a German Freistellungsauftrag at RSEUAB. The IAS savings product supports its own Freistellungsauftrag separately. The Sparer-Pauschbetrag for your investment income at RSEUAB is applied through your assessment.

3. Reports to download from Revolut

Consolidated statement / annual report

Revolut's consolidated statement combines information across products (currency, savings, investing, crypto). Revolut says it can be useful for tax declarations, but also that it is not tax advice, and instructs users to download product-level CSV statements when specific metrics are missing (Revolut — Consolidated statement). Treat it as a starting point, not a German Steuerbescheinigung.

RSEUAB account statement

Revolut's investment reporting page says investment account statements are provided by RSEUAB. For investments other than Flexible Accounts, go to Invest → More → Documents: account statements, P&L reports, costs-and-charges reports (Revolut — Accessing investment statements). The account statement lists trades, assets, the month, and the account number; it is generated at least quarterly. Trade confirmations are made available no later than one business day after order execution (Revolut — Investment services terms).

P&L report

Returns on sell transactions for a custom period; includes earned income and fees; not available for Flexible Accounts. Useful for reconciliation, but for German tax you still need to verify against German FIFO and transaction-date FX (Section 4 / 5).

Costs and charges report

Annual, produced at the beginning of the following year. Note: not every fee shown as a platform / service cost is automatically deductible against capital income; § 20(9) EStG limits actual Werbungskosten beyond the Sparer-Pauschbetrag.

Flexible Cash Fund statements

For money-market Funds, go to Profile → Documents & statements → Savings → select the flexible account. Returns accrue daily and are paid monthly; if not withdrawn, they are automatically reinvested (Revolut — Investment services terms). Keep records of: purchases of fund units, withdrawals / redemptions, monthly returns credits, reinvestments, fees, any displayed withholding amounts, opening and closing values for Vorabpauschale calculations.

Dividend / withholding evidence

Revolut does not present its Germany help pages as a German tax certificate for dividends. Gather dividend transaction entries, account statements, P&L reports, and any displayed source-tax withholding.

Crypto statement

Download from the crypto section by selecting the token, choosing statement, and selecting the timeframe and format (Revolut — Crypto and taxes). Note: crypto goes on Anlage SO, not Anlage KAP — see Section 5.

4. Currency conversion

The German tax calculation uses euros at the relevant transaction or inflow dates. Do not rely mechanically on Revolut's app-displayed P/L.

For securities gains under § 20 EStG, BMF guidance and § 20(4) EStG require: convert acquisition costs at the acquisition date and sale proceeds at the disposal date. For foreign-currency capital income (dividends, interest), convert using the Devisenbriefkurs on the inflow date (BMF — Abgeltungsteuer (14 May 2025)).

RSEUAB's terms note that currency conversion before adding investment funds uses the relevant Revolut entity's exchange rate and possible fees (Revolut — Investment services terms). The commercial Revolut conversion and the German tax conversion are related but not identical concepts. Preserve transaction-date evidence for: original currency amount, EUR amount, exchange rate, fees, dividend / payment date, acquisition date, and sale date.

5. Per-asset-class treatment for Revolut users

Individual stocks (RSEUAB)

Foreign stock dividends from RSEUAB are foreign capital income not subject to German domestic withholding. ELSTER places foreign capital income (dividends, interest from foreign credit institutions) in Anlage KAP Z19, with disposal events additionally allocated to Z20 / Z22 / Z23 (ELSTER — Anlage KAP / KAP-INV 2025 help). Foreign withholding tax not already credited goes in Anlage KAP Z41.

Apply German FIFO per § 20(4) EStG and the BMF Abgeltungsteuer guidance — first in, first out, per individual depot. The app P/L should be checked against German FIFO and transaction-date FX. Fractional and recurring-investment lots still need FIFO tracking (Revolut — Investment services terms).

ETFs (RSEUAB)

ETFs are investment funds under InvStG, not ordinary shares. Distributing ETFs may pay dividends to investors; accumulating ETFs reinvest inside the fund (Revolut — What is an ETF?). For RSEUAB ETF holdings without German withholding:

• Distributions go in Anlage KAP-INV Z4–Z8 by fund type, gross, before Teilfreistellung.
• Vorabpauschalen go in Z9–Z13 by fund type. The 2024 Vorabpauschale is deemed received on 2 January 2025 and belongs in your 2025 return — see Section 7.
• Sale gains/losses go in Z14 / Z17 / Z20 / Z23 / Z26 by fund type.
• Calculation worksheets (Section 4 for VP, Section 5 for sales) capture per-fund and per-month detail.

Flexible Cash Funds (RSEUAB)

Revolut's Flexible Cash Funds invest in sub-funds of Fidelity Institutional Liquidity Fund plc; adding and withdrawing funds corresponds to buying and selling Fund shares; returns accrue daily and are paid monthly, automatically reinvested if not withdrawn (Revolut — Investment services terms). Tax treatment depends on the customer's tax residency; Revolut withholds tax only where legally required and does not proactively process tax payments (Revolut — Flexible Accounts taxes).

Typical reporting logic for Flexible Cash Funds:

• Monthly paid or reinvested returns: KAP-INV distribution lines Z4–Z8, depending on fund category.
• Vorabpauschale, if applicable: KAP-INV Z9–Z13 and Section 4 calculation worksheet.
• Withdrawals / redemptions: KAP-INV Z14 / Z17 / Z20 / Z23 / Z26 and Section 5 sale-calculation worksheet.
• Any foreign tax shown: Anlage KAP Z41.

Instant Access Savings (Revolut Bank UAB Germany)

IAS interest is credited after deduction of German Kapitalertragsteuer, Solidaritätszuschlag, and Kirchensteuer where applicable (Revolut — Tax on IAS). ELSTER says Anlage KAP is generally not required for capital income already subject to final withholding, but is required where the tax office should credit / refund withholding, where a Sperrvermerk applies (church tax not withheld), or where Günstigerprüfung is requested.

For IAS, Revolut queries church-tax data from the BZSt and withholds church tax where applicable; users can block automated retrieval through a Sperrvermerk. If KapESt was withheld but church tax was not because of a Sperrvermerk, Anlage KAP filing is required to assess the church tax.

Crypto via Revolut

For private investors holding crypto through Revolut, the BMF's 6 March 2025 crypto-assets guidance places private crypto sale profits under § 22 Nr. 2 in Verbindung mit § 23 (1) Nr. 2 EStG when the period between acquisition and sale is no more than one year (BMF — Crypto-assets, 6 March 2025). Crypto belongs on Anlage SO, not on Anlage KAP / KAP-INV.

6. Stocks and bonds in Anlage KAP

Verified 2025 ELSTER labels for the foreign-broker section of Anlage KAP:

ELSTER explicitly says foreign tax connected with KAP-INV income also goes in Anlage KAP line 41, not Anlage AUS. Line 17 captures any Sparer-Pauschbetrag already used through Freistellungsaufträge — including the IAS Freistellungsauftrag at Revolut Bank UAB Germany if you have one.

7. Vorabpauschale specifics for 2025

The Vorabpauschale is a minimum-taxation mechanism on investment-fund units. § 18 InvStG deems it received on the first working day of the following calendar year. Revolut does not deduct it for RSEUAB-held funds.

Two timing facts that matter for your 2025 return

• The 2024 Vorabpauschale is deemed received on 2 January 2025 and belongs in your 2025 return. ELSTER's 2025 KAP-INV help confirms the 2024 Basiszins of 2.29 % and the resulting calculation rate of 1.603 %.
• The 2025 Vorabpauschale will be deemed received on 2 January 2026 and belongs in your 2026 return. The BMF letter of 10 January 2025 sets the 2025 Basiszins at 2.53 %, giving a calculation rate of 1.771 % (BMF — Basiszins 2025).

Formula

• Basisertrag = January 1 fund value × Basiszins × 70 %.
• Mehrbetrag = (December 31 fund value − January 1 fund value) + distributions.
• Vorabpauschale = min(Basisertrag, Mehrbetrag) − distributions; floor at 0; cap at the Mehrbetrag.
• Acquired during the year: reduce by 1/12 for each full month before the month of acquisition.

The line-53 trap on later sales

When you sell an RSEUAB fund, the Section 5 worksheet (≈ "line 53" in PDF form) deducts prior Vorabpauschalen during the holding period before partial exemption — to avoid double taxation. For foreign-custody units, the deduction is allowed only to the extent those Vorabpauschalen were actually reported and taxed, or were absorbed by the Sparer-Pauschbetrag. Document this. Skipping past Vorabpauschalen costs you here.

Reinvested monthly returns on Flexible Cash Funds

Revolut's Flexible Cash Fund terms say returns are paid monthly and automatically reinvested if not withdrawn. ELSTER's KAP-INV instructions include amounts credited or reinvested through new investment units. Reinvested returns are not "ignorable just because no cash was paid out" — see Common Mistake #7 below.

8. The Sparer-Pauschbetrag trap

For 2025, the Sparer-Pauschbetrag is €1,000 single / €2,000 jointly assessed per § 20 (9) EStG. The allowance is not product-specific. It applies across capital income, but use differs by Revolut product:

• IAS: Revolut Bank UAB Germany supports a Freistellungsauftrag for IAS savings interest; up to the registered amount, IAS interest is paid without withholding.
• RSEUAB stocks/ETFs/Flexible Cash Funds: No Freistellungsauftrag mechanism for RSEUAB investment income. Declare in KAP / KAP-INV; the tax office applies the remaining allowance through the assessment.
• KAP line 17: enter the Sparer-Pauschbetrag already used through Freistellungsaufträge — including any IAS Freistellungsauftrag at Revolut and any Freistellungsauftrag at other German banks.

9. Common mistakes Revolut users make

1. Treating all Revolut products the same. IAS (German branch) is a different legal entity and tax flow than RSEUAB (Lithuania). One has German withholding and a Freistellungsauftrag; the other does not.
2. Thinking U.S. withholding is German tax. U.S. dividend withholding under W-8BEN is U.S. source tax. It may be creditable in Germany via Anlage KAP line 41, but it is not Kapitalertragsteuer.
3. Putting ETF distributions in Anlage KAP line 19. Investment-fund distributions and sales not subject to domestic withholding go in Anlage KAP-INV, not KAP.
4. Ignoring KAP-INV because income is below €1,000. ELSTER says Anlage KAP-INV must be submitted for foreign-custody investment-fund income even below the Sparer-Pauschbetrag.
5. Forgetting the 2024 Vorabpauschale in the 2025 return. Deemed received on 2 January 2025 — belongs in the 2025 return.
6. Using Revolut's displayed P/L without German FX/FIFO reconciliation. German rules require transaction-date EUR conversion and FIFO.
7. Treating Flexible Cash Funds as Tagesgeld. They are Fund shares, not bank deposits. Reinvested monthly returns are still investment-fund credits.
8. Putting crypto in KAP. Private crypto disposals under one year are generally Anlage SO under § 22 Nr. 2 / § 23 EStG.
9. Forgetting line 41 for foreign tax. Foreign tax not yet credited, including foreign tax connected with KAP-INV income, belongs in Anlage KAP line 41.
10. Calling Revolut's reports a German Steuerbescheinigung. The consolidated statement is a starting point; the customer remains responsible for tax reporting.

10. Calculate your Vorabpauschale now

Open the calculator, enter your 2024 fund values and any 2024 distributions, and you get the 2025-return Vorabpauschale and the KAP-INV / KAP figures to copy into ELSTER. Free, no signup, data stays in your browser.

Open the Vorabpauschale calculator

11. Disclaimer and sources

Last updated: 2026-04-29.

Sources: BMF (Bundesministerium der Finanzen), ELSTER, Investmentsteuergesetz, Einkommensteuergesetz, Revolut official documentation. We make every effort to be accurate, but tax law and broker reports change and individual circumstances vary.

Disclaimer / Haftungsausschluss: This page is a calculation and filing helper for informational purposes only. It does not constitute tax advisory services (Steuerberatung) within the meaning of the Steuerberatungsgesetz. No advisory or professional relationship is created. The page is not a German Steuerbescheinigung. No guarantee is made regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information. Users are solely responsible for verifying all values before filing their tax return. Always consult a qualified tax advisor (Steuerberater) for individual advice.

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