RAQUEST has published its new MiKaDiv Insights Report Turning Operational Risk into Operational Clarity, a comprehensive analysis of Germany’s new MiKaDiv reporting framework and its implications for banks, custodians and financial intermediaries.
The report comes as Germany prepares to implement a fundamentally redesigned reporting regime for dividend-related withholding tax. MiKaDiv (Mitteilungsverfahren Kapitalertragsteuer auf Dividenden und Hinterlegungsscheine) introduces a fully digital, standardized reporting process intended to increase transparency, strengthen tax compliance and help prevent tax abuse, including practices exposed in the Cum/Ex and Cum/Cum cases.
Unlike previous reporting procedures, MiKaDiv requires participating institutions to submit structured digital data to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) based on their role within the actual custody and payment chain. The new regime introduces significantly greater data granularity, standardized XML reporting, digital submission of the tax reclaim via the DIP protocol and enhanced traceability throughout the reporting lifecycle.
For many financial institutions, these requirements represent a substantial operational change. Organizations will need to identify reporting responsibilities across complex custody structures, validate holdings and transaction data, manage corrections digitally and ensure consistency between reporting and withholding tax reclaim processes. Foreign banks and intermediaries participating in German securities markets will also be affected by MiKaDiv.
Alexander Lerch, Co-Founder and CEO of RAQUEST: “MiKaDiv represents the most consequential regulatory introduction for withholding tax reporting in Germany. Successfully preparing for this transition requires more than regulatory awareness alone; it demands a clear understanding of an institution’s role within the framework, a robust data strategy, effective compliance governance, and the ability to translate these requirements into sustainable operational processes.”
The MiKaDiv Insights Report provides a structured overview of the new regime, outlines regulatory and operational expectations, and presents recommended solution approaches based on RAQUEST’s expertise in tax process automation and withholding tax compliance. It also explores how MiKaDiv aligns with broader European initiatives, including FASTER.
