P2P withholding tax: rates by country and platforms

You invest in crowdlending or P2P lending and you wonder why some platforms pay you slightly less interest than the rate displayed on the loan? Often, the answer comes down to three words: withholding tax. In English, this is called withholding tax or WHT. On some European platforms, the country of origin directly deducts a percentage from your gross interest, before the money reaches your investor account.

This is a question I am asked very often. And rightly so: depending on the country, the rate varies from 0% to 15%, you can sometimes recover part of it in France the following year via a tax credit, and in other cases you permanently lose the withholding. I modelled all this on a typical amount of capital, cross-checked the tax treaties, and above all integrated the data into my P2P comparator. In this guide, I explain what it actually changes for your return, platform by platform.

What is withholding tax in P2P?

When you lend money through a crowdlending platform, you receive interest. For the tax authorities of the country where the platform is domiciled (or the entity that pays you the interest), these flows may be subject to withholding tax: a tax automatically deducted from the gross amount before payment into your investor wallet.

This mechanism is not specific to P2P. If you invest in the stock market and receive US dividends, you already know the principle: the United States typically withholds 15% (subject to the W-8BEN form requirements). In European crowdlending, the rates and treaties are different, but the logic is the same: the source country tax comes before you.

Important point: withholding tax in the platform's country does not replace your tax return in France. You remain taxable on your investment income (interest) under French taxation: PFU (flat tax) at 31.4% from 2026 (12.8% income tax + 18.6% social security contributions), or the progressive tax scale if you opt for it globally. The foreign withholding comes upstream, not instead.

As for terminology: in my P2P comparator, the column is called WHT Tax (Withholding Tax). In everyday French, people say prélèvement à la source, retenue à la source or impôt retenu à la source. All three expressions refer to the same operational reality on your investor account.

Why this matters for your return

On platforms with 0% withholding, you receive all contractual gross interest (excluding defaults, delays, platform fees, etc.). On platforms with 5%, 10% or 15%, your immediate net cash flow is lower. You receive less cash to reinvest each month, so the “snowball” effect of reinvesting interest is slightly reduced.

Two effects add up:

1. The direct effect: you lose X% on every euro of interest paid.

2. The opportunity cost: the money withheld at source no longer generates interest for you until you potentially recover a tax credit in France, often 14 months later (N+1 income tax return, validation a few weeks or months afterwards).

On a diversified portfolio, the overall impact can remain modest if you mainly use platforms at 0% or recoverable 5%. However, on a Bulgarian platform such as Afranga, where the 10% withholding is not recoverable in France, the topic becomes central when choosing your minimum return per loan.

My simulation: €10,000 at 12%

To quantify the impact, I started from a simple scenario, intentionally educational:

• Capital invested: €10,000

• Average gross interest rate: 12% per year

• Annual gross interest: €1,200

• Horizon: 12 months of investment, tax credit recovered on average after 14 months when possible

I isolated three common countries in crowdlending for French investors:

You can immediately see the gap: for the same contractual return (12%), you can end up between 11.40% and 10.20% of net cash flow in the first year, solely because of withholding tax. This is not negligible on a large Bulgarian or Lithuanian allocation that is not recoverable.

To go further in your own calculations, take each platform's annual tax report: the “withholding tax” or “tax withheld” line gives you the exact amount deducted. You can then compare it with the tax credit entered on the 2047 the following year to check that you are indeed recovering what you expect.

Tax credit and real return over 14 months

When a France-country tax treaty allows you to recover the withholding, you can obtain a tax credit via appendix 2047 (income received abroad). In practice, the cash often comes back around 14 months after the first interest payment (tax return in spring N+1, then processing).

On the Latvian example at a recoverable 5%:

• Withholding in year N: €60

• Tax credit in year N+1: €60 (applicable treaty)

• Estimated opportunity loss (€60 not reinvested at 12% for ~14 months): around €8.40

• Final return smoothed over the period: around 11.92% instead of 12%

For me, on a recoverable 5%, it is anecdotal: the return gap is around 0.08 points. I do not choose a platform solely for that, unless everything else is strictly identical.

Tax treaties and form 2047

France has signed bilateral tax treaties with many countries. For crowdlending, the issue is whether interest (income from debt claims) benefits from a reduced withholding tax rate and whether France grants a tax credit to avoid double taxation.

The reference document for the French tax return is appendix 2047. You report foreign-source income, the amount of foreign withholding and, where applicable, the tax credit calculated according to the treaty.

Watch out for the classic traps:

• Treaties often distinguish between interest and dividends. In P2P, we are dealing with interest, not share dividends.

• The tax credit rate may be capped (Lithuanian example below).

• Some countries provide no tax credit recoverable in France (Bulgarian case for the 10% withholding on Afranga).

Latvia at 5%: recoverable, low impact

Several major Latvian platforms apply a 5% withholding on interest paid to foreign private investors. This is notably the case for Mintos, Twino, Debitum, Nectaro and ViaInvest in my comparison.

The France-Latvia treaty in principle allows this withholding to be recovered via the tax credit on interest, within the limits of the rates provided by the treaty (here the usual cap of 11.1% on interest for Latvia in the tax notices I consulted). With these 5% withheld, you are below this cap: you can therefore recover the full €60 in my example on €1,200 of interest.

In practice, in my portfolio, I have many Latvian platforms with this mechanism. I do not avoid them for that reason: the displayed return remains my main criterion, with the 5% withholding largely offset the following year. The only real drawback is the small cash-flow lag and the micro-opportunity cost on reinvestment.

To check a platform's exact registered office (Latvia, Croatia, Estonia, etc.), use my comparator: you can sort by country and cross-check with the WHT Tax column.

Bulgaria at 10%: the Afranga case (not recoverable)

Bulgaria applies a 10% withholding on interest paid to foreign investors on certain platforms domiciled there. In my P2P comparison, Afranga is the visible Bulgarian platform with this rate and the explicit mention: not recoverable in France (no tax credit on this withholding under the France-Bulgaria treaty, for the interest concerned).

This is a real game changer in your return/risk trade-off:

• On a displayed rate of 12%, you receive around 10.80% net of Bulgarian withholding in the first year.

• You will not recover this 10% via form 2047.

• You need to target loans with enough remuneration to offset this permanent margin.

Personally, on Afranga, I target loans at 12% and above. When supply becomes scarcer below that, I reduce or even stop new investments on the platform. This is not a judgement on Afranga's quality (I actually have a good overall experience with their financial statements), it is a net tax trade-off.

The “41.4% combined” trap (10% + 31.4%)

You sometimes read that Bulgaria would make you pay 10% + 31.4% = 41.4% in taxes. That is too quick a reading. Yes, you have the 10% Bulgarian withholding at source, and you are taxable in France on your investment interest. But you do not declare the gross €1,200 if €120 has already been withheld in Bulgaria.

I asked the tax authorities (SIP) and I have consistent feedback from other investors: on appendix 2047, line 250 (investment income from foreign sources), you declare the net amount after withholding tax, not the gross amount. In practical terms, on €1,200 gross and €120 withheld, you declare €1,080 in France.

The overall effective rate is therefore not 41.4%, but rather around 38% in this scenario (10% permanently lost at source + French PFU calculated on the net basis). That is huge, yes, but it is less bad than adding the two base rates together.

Lithuania at 15%: watch the recovery cap

Lithuania applies a withholding that can rise to 15% on interest. In my comparison, several Lithuanian platforms show this rate: Finbee, InSoil and NEO Finance.

On paper, you might think you can recover €180 of withholding on €1,200 of interest (15%). In reality, the France-Lithuania treaty caps the tax credit on interest at 11.1% in the tax notice. You will therefore probably not recover the full amount of the 15% withheld. Part of it remains permanently lost, in addition to the opportunity cost on the recoverable fraction 14 months later.

In my numerical example: immediate return 10.20%, estimated opportunity loss of around €25 if you reinvest at 12%, and only partial recovery via 2047. I do not currently have large Lithuanian exposure in my portfolio, precisely for this reason. If you have real-world experience on a Lithuanian platform (amount actually recovered), feel free to write to me: I update the comparison as investor feedback comes in.

Platforms with no withholding tax (0%)

Good news: a large majority of the platforms listed in my P2P comparator show 0% WHT Tax. You receive 100% of gross interest (excluding payment incidents), and only French taxation then applies on your tax return.

These include in particular:

• French platforms: Bienprêter (0%, domestic logic).

• Ireland, Croatia, Romania, Spain, Poland, etc.: Bondora, PeerBerry, Robocash, Swaper, IUVO, Lendermarket, EstateGuru, Esketit, Hive5, Maclear, Loanch, Lonvest, Modena, Monefit SmartSaver, Income Marketplace, AxiaFunder, FF Forest, Lande, Ventus Energy, Triple Dragon Funding, and others.

This 0% does not mean “no tax”: you still declare your interest in France. It simply means that no foreign withholding is deducted at the time of payment.

Complete list of P2P platforms by rate

The table below lists the active platforms in my P2P comparator (WHT Tax criterion). I update it as platform registered offices or tax policies change. If you see an error, contact me.

WHT 5%

WHT 10%

WHT 15%

WHT 0% (all other active platforms in the comparator)

How to read the P2P comparator

I integrated taxation into the 2026 P2P comparator to answer this withholding tax question precisely. In the Taxation tab, you will find in particular:

• WHT Tax: the withholding tax rate (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%).

• Taxes: reminder of French taxation (PFU 31.4% or tax scale).

• Foreign account declaration 3916: obligation to declare your investor account abroad.

• Tax report: whether the platform provides an annual tax report (PDF, CSV, Excel).

• IFU: only for French platforms (Bienprêter, etc.).

• Platform addresses: useful for completing the 3916 (also included in the P2P Taxes article).

Each criterion has a score that feeds into the overall taxation rating. A platform with a non-recoverable 10% (Afranga) is heavily penalised. A platform with a recoverable 5% remains close to the maximum. You can sort the columns by clicking on the header, as with the Regulation view (registered office country, MiFID, ECSP, etc.).

Withholding tax and the French flat tax

Many investors confuse foreign withholding and French taxation. Let us calmly go through the full flow for a French tax resident:

1. The foreign platform pays contractual gross interest.

2. The source country may deduct its withholding (0% to 15% depending on the platform).

3. You receive the net amount in your investor wallet.

4. The following year, you declare in France (2047 + 2042) the appropriate amount (often net after WHT for countries without credit, gross or net depending on the case for countries with a treaty).

5. You pay the flat tax at 31.4% (or the tax scale) on the declared basis, with any foreign tax credit.

The PFU is not “on top of” foreign withholding in a naively cumulative way: the treaty and the lines on the 2047 are precisely there to avoid full double taxation. But a non-recoverable withholding remains a pure loss on your overall net return.

For high incomes subject to the monthly withholding payment (form 2778-SD depending on your reference taxable income), the logic is the same: foreign WHT does not exempt you from the French mechanism, it only complicates the cash-flow calendar.

Tax report, IFU and form 3916

Withholding tax is one thing. The documents used for reporting are another, and they go together in your annual organisation.

IFU (French platforms)

French platforms such as Bienprêter issue an IFU (single tax form). It is the simplest document for completing your tax return: the boxes are already structured for the French tax authorities. No foreign WHT in this case (0% on the platform side).

Tax report (foreign platforms)

Mintos, Twino, Bondora, IUVO and most foreign platforms provide an annual tax report (PDF, CSV or Excel). It is not a French IFU, but it is often sufficient to reconstruct your gross interest, any withholdings and net interest. The first year takes more time. After that, you have your routine.

Form 3916 (account abroad)

As soon as you hold an investor account abroad (almost all P2P platforms outside France), you must declare it via form 3916, now integrated into the online 2042 tax return. This is not linked to the WHT rate; it is an asset transparency obligation. The addresses to enter are listed in my comparator and in the P2P Taxes article.

Glossary and further reading

For technical terms (assignment of receivables, buyback, ECSP, PFU, etc.), see my crowdfunding and crowdlending glossary. For the European regulatory framework (MiFID II, ECSP, registered office country), the P2P regulation article is a good complement to this taxation section.

For the financial health of platforms and lending companies (ratios, financial statements, scoring), the P2P financial statements page remains essential before optimising a final point of tax return.

Frequently asked questions about P2P withholding tax

What is the difference between WHT and flat tax?

The WHT (withholding tax) is deducted by the platform's country from your interest before payment. The French flat tax (PFU 31.4%) then applies on your income tax return in France, on the basis declared according to the treaties. These are two separate steps.

Does Mintos withhold at source?

Yes, Mintos currently applies 5% WHT on interest for the investors concerned. In principle recoverable via a tax credit in France (appendix 2047), subject to treaty caps.

Is Afranga's 10% recoverable?

No, for a French tax resident: the 10% Bulgarian withholding on Afranga does not give rise to a recoverable tax credit under the France-Bulgaria treaty for the interest concerned. You declare the net amount on line 250.

Which platforms have 0% withholding tax?

The majority of active platforms in the comparator: Bondora, PeerBerry, Swaper, Robocash, IUVO, Lendermarket, EstateGuru, Bienprêter, etc. See the table above or filter on the P2P comparator.

Is the Lithuanian 15% withholding fully recoverable?

Probably not in full. The treaty caps the tax credit on interest at 11.1%. Part of the 15% withheld may remain permanently lost, in addition to the recovery delay.

Does withholding tax replace the 3916?

No. Even with 0% WHT, your investor account abroad must be declared via form 3916 if you are a French tax resident.

On a 12% loan, what is the real impact of WHT?

On €10,000 invested: recoverable 5% WHT ≈ 11.92% return smoothed over 14 months; non-recoverable 10% ≈ 10.80% immediate net; Lithuanian 15% ≈ 10.20% immediate net with only partial recovery. See the simulation at the beginning of the article.