What a European ETF really costs you

The funds18 UCITS ETFs · figures from issuer documents

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How your country taxes it

Four countries, four mechanisms, and the reason a fund that suits one investor can be a poor choice for their neighbour. Each guide explains one of them in plain words and links to the calculator that applies it.

• ETF tax in the Netherlands — how Box 3 actually works
• ETF tax in Germany — Vorabpauschale and Teilfreistellung explained
• ETF tax in Belgium — TOB, Reynders and no capital gains tax
• ETF tax in Italy — stamp duty, capital gains and the accumulating advantage
• The total cost of owning an ETF — all four charges, not just the TER
• Accumulating or distributing — and why the answer is your country
• Choosing a broker — the costs that depend on how you invest

Common questions

What does this site actually calculate?

What a specific fund costs you, in your country, through your broker — which is a different question from what the fund charges. It combines the fund's own ongoing charge with the withholding tax it loses on dividends before you see them, what your broker takes to trade and hold it, and the tax your country applies to holding or selling. Those last two are frequently larger than the first.

Why does the country toggle change the numbers so much?

Because the four countries covered tax the same fund in completely different ways. The Netherlands charges an annual amount on the value of your holding regardless of what it earned, Germany taxes a partially exempted real return, Belgium taxes the transaction rather than the gain, and Italy charges stamp duty on the balance every year and tax on the gain at the end. A fund that is sensible in one can be a poor choice in another.

Where do the numbers come from?

From documents the fund providers publish for retail investors, and from each country's published tax rules — never from a market-data feed. Every republished figure carries a link to its source and the date it was stated, enforced at the database level. That constraint is why some pages show an honest empty state rather than a number.

Is this investment advice?

No. It is a calculator and a set of explanations. It does not know your circumstances, it does not recommend funds, and it deliberately does not rank them — because the ranking depends on where you live and who you trade through, which is the whole point the site is making.