How it works
What actually happens between your statement and your payout
No mystery pipeline, no “our experts handle everything”: here are the exact eight stages every claim goes through, what the automation does, where a human decides — and what can go wrong along the way.
No win, no fee · Pricing 100% public · FR / EN
8
stages, all visible in your client area
€0
upfront — the fee only exists on success
€10,000
the threshold above which a human always signs off before filing
The pipeline
The 8 stages, without the marketing cut
Eight numbered stages, because they genuinely happen in order. It is the same chronology shown on every claim in your client area: the website and the product tell the same story.
Eligibility verified
You import your brokerage statements (PDF or CSV). The automation recognises every dividend line, applies the applicable treaty rate and computes the over-withholding, country by country. In your client area: the line-by-line diagnostic — including the lines with nothing to recover, flagged as such. Typical duration: a few minutes.
Documents collected
The system draws up the exact list of documents each administration requires (certificate of tax residence, tax vouchers, custody confirmations…) and pre-fills everything that can be pre-filled. In your client area: a per-claim checklist, updated as each document comes in. Typical duration: 1 to 3 weeks — the certificate stamped by your local tax office is almost always the slowest step.
Mandate signed
You e-sign the mandate authorising us to act on your behalf before the foreign administration — nothing more. In your client area: the mandate, viewable at any time, with its exact scope. Typical duration: two minutes.
Claim filed
The pipeline generates each country's official forms (Form 83, ZS-RD1, NR7-R…), files online where the administration accepts it, prints and ships by tracked mail where it doesn't. Above €10,000, a human always signs off before anything leaves. In your client area: the filing reference and a full copy of what was sent. Typical duration: a few working days once the file is complete.
Under review
The administration reviews. Our system compares your claim's age against the country's usual timelines and triggers documented follow-ups as soon as it drifts past the norm. In your client area: the filing date, the claim's age and the next scheduled follow-up. Typical duration: from a few months to over a year depending on the country — the honest detail is further down this page.
Response / further request
Approval, request for further information, or rejection: every letter is analysed, explained in plain language and added to your file. A follow-up request gets a prepared answer within the deadline — sometimes a short one. In your client area: the notification, the original letter and our answer. Typical duration: variable — this is the stage we watch most closely.
Refund received
The refund is received, then reconciled to the cent against the amount claimed; any gap is flagged and explained before we go further. In your client area: the line turns from gold hatching (potential) to solid green (realised). Typical duration: the administration's transfer follows its decision by a few weeks.
Paid out to you
We deduct the fee from the public grid — computed at that moment, never earlier — and wire the net amount to your account, with an itemised invoice. In your client area: the settled entry, the payment evidence and the full history. Typical duration: a few working days after the funds arrive.
What you see above is the actual tracking component from the client area, not a marketing illustration.
Where automation stops
Where humans step in (and why we will never automate it away)
Automation handles the repetition; it does not carry the responsibility. Five situations always leave the automated pipeline:
Final sign-off above €10,000
Every claim whose estimate exceeds this threshold is reviewed and approved by a person before filing. The threshold can be lowered, never removed: it is a compliance guardrail, not a marketing dial.
Sanctions and PEP alerts
If automated screening flags a possible match with a sanctions list or a politically exposed person, no machine ever clears the alert: an analyst decides, and the decision is documented in the file.
Rejections and appeals
A rejection letter has never received a template answer from us. A case manager reads the administration's reasoning, decides whether to fix, refile or contest, and writes the argument.
Document / declaration mismatches
When what a statement says doesn't match what was declared (amount, date, holder), the claim leaves the automated pipeline until a human has understood why.
Ambiguous KYC
A doubtful identity document, an unusual holding structure, a beneficial owner that is hard to establish: doubt always favours human verification, never speed.
Why we will never automate it away
Because a refund claim commits your name before a foreign tax administration. Automation prepares, computes, logs and accelerates; it does not sign. Responsibility for a filing rests with identifiable people — and every human intervention is itself recorded in the audit log.
Transparency
What can go wrong
Most recovery websites stop at 'file, get paid'. Here is the part you are never shown — and what we do, precisely, when it happens.
The request for further information
The administration asks for an extra document or clarification — sometimes with a response window of only 10 to 15 days.
What FiscalPlace does
The request is detected on receipt, the answer prepared immediately and filed within the deadline. If a document has to come from you, the checklist in your client area says exactly which one — and you are chased before the deadline, not after.
The rejection
A document deemed insufficient, an incomplete chain of custody, a formal defect: rejections happen — to us as to everyone.
What FiscalPlace does
We analyse the reasoning, fix and refile when the claim remains defensible, and contest when the rejection looks unfounded. If it is final, you pay nothing: that is what success-only fees mean.
The statute of limitations
Once a country's legal deadline passes, the over-withholding is lost for good — just 2 years in Canada, 3 in Switzerland, up to 5 in Austria.
What FiscalPlace does
Every line is dated at import and checked against its country's deadline. Whatever is time-barred is marked as lost — we don't file dead claims — and whatever is close to expiry is prioritised, with optional priority handling (€89 per claim, public grid).
The silent administration
Months without a word: the most frustrating scenario, and no honest provider can promise to avoid it.
What FiscalPlace does
Written follow-ups at regular intervals, all archived in your log; escalation through each administration's own channels; and an honest status in your client area — 'under review, chased on 12 March' rather than a fake 'all good'.
Real timelines
How long it (really) takes
Two identical claims filed in two different countries will not live the same life. Here are the processing ranges we observe after filing — not the optimistic version. Add document collection upfront, typically 1 to 3 weeks on your side.
| Country | Observed processing | Specifics |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 3 to 6 months | Skatteverket has a reputation for answering faster than the rest of our panel. |
| Switzerland | 4 to 8 months | Electronic filing has been mandatory since 2025; bundling into one annual claim is recommended (three claims per year maximum). |
| Austria | 6 to 12 months | Online pre-filing plus a signed paper submission: the pipeline generates both. |
| Canada | 6 to 12 months | Still a paper procedure: initial file quality drives the timeline. And mind the short statute of limitations — only 2 years. |
| Japan | 9 to 18 months | The mandatory route through the Japanese paying agent adds friction: slower than average. |
| Germany | 12 to 18 months, sometimes more | The BZSt frequently takes over 12 months and demands a flawless documentation chain. |
Indicative ranges, observed in practice and reviewed regularly — never contractual. Your per-country estimate is given before filing, and your claim's log shows where it really stands. Processing time must not be confused with the statute of limitations, which runs against you starting today.
Audit log
Every automated decision leaves a trace
A tax file cannot run on 'trust us'. Every decision the automation takes is recorded, timestamped and viewable from your client area — the same trail we would produce for an auditor.
- Every rate applied, with its treaty reference
- Every over-withholding computation, line by line
- Every form generated and every filing, timestamped
- Every follow-up sent and every answer received
- Every human intervention, with its reason
- 09:41:07 · Line detected: Swiss dividend — gross €1,200
- 09:41:07 · Rates checked: 35% withheld vs 15% owed — FR-CH TREATY
- 09:41:08 · Over-withholding computed: €240 (20% of €1,200)
- 09:41:08 · Statute of limitations checked: deadline 31 December 2027 — within time
- 09:41:12 · Official form generated — country dataset 2026-06.1
Start with the number, not the paperwork
The simulator tells you in two minutes what there is — or isn't — to recover, for free. If the answer is 'nothing', you'll know that too: we don't open claims that aren't worth opening.
No win, no fee · Pricing 100% public · FR / EN