Does this tool tell me my withholding rate?

No. The tool shows published withholding rates from the treaty text — each paired with its conditions (e.g., "15% if recipient holds ≥10% of voting shares"). Your actual withholding rate depends on your specific situation: payment type, beneficial ownership, residency status, domestic anti-avoidance rules, and applicable treaty provisions. Only a qualified international tax specialist can determine your actual withholding rate for a specific transaction.

Does this tool tell me if a treaty applies to my situation?

No. The tool shows whether two countries have a treaty in force and its structure — but whether a treaty applies to your specific situation requires interpretation of treaty articles against your facts. Treaty interpretation is highly fact-specific. Consult an international tax specialist for your situation.

What are tie-breaker tests?

Tie-breaker provisions are treaty articles that determine residency when two countries both claim you as a tax resident under their domestic laws (e.g., tie-breaker based on permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual presence, nationality, or mutual agreement). This tool does not apply tie-breaker rules — it surfaces treaty data only. Tie-breaker analysis requires a specialist. See OECD Model Tax Convention Article 4 for the standard framework.

Why are there multiple withholding rates for the same payment type?

Each withholding rate has a condition attached. For example, dividends may have a reduced rate (e.g., 5%) if the recipient holds ≥10% of voting shares, and a higher rate (e.g., 15%) in all other cases. Service royalties may have a different rate entirely. The choice between rates depends on your specific circumstances — not the tool.

How accurate is the source data?

All records cite their source (OECD treaty database or country revenue authority) and show a lastVerified date. Records are dataStatus: "seed" until Sam manually verifies them against OECD publications and country authority websites. Verified records have been cross-checked against primary sources. We flag seeded data prominently so users know what has and has not been verified.

Why is the official treaty PDF sometimes missing?

Not all countries publish their treaty texts as downloadable PDFs on their government websites. In those cases, the sourceUrl still links to the authoritative page (OECD database or country revenue authority) where the treaty text can be found. The sourceUrl is always the definitive reference.

Can I embed this tool on my website?

Yes. The tool is available as a free embeddable widget (planned post-v1). Attribution to crossborderfreelance.com is required.

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Treaty Lookup Methodology

Compiled by the crossborderfreelance.com editorial team. Reference data last reviewed 2 August 2026. We do not provide individual tax, legal, or financial advice — see disclaimer below.

Informational only — not tax or legal advice

The output is a reference card showing whether the two selected countries have a tax treaty in force, when it was signed, and where to read the source treaty document. It does NOT interpret the treaty, apply tie-breaker rules, calculate withholding for you, or tell you that a particular treaty article applies to your situation. Treaty interpretation is highly fact-specific. Consult an international tax specialist for your situation.

Data last verified 2 Aug 2026 — methodology

TL;DR

We source treaty data exclusively from the OECD treaty database and official country revenue authority websites. We never use third-party blogs. Every withholding rate is published with its conditions. We do NOT interpret treaties or calculate your actual tax obligations.

What the tool does

✓ Surfaces structured treaty data: status, dates, taxes covered, withholding rates with conditions
✓ Links to official treaty PDFs where publicly hosted
✓ Cites source URLs (OECD or country revenue authority)
✓ Flags data as 'seed' (unverified) or 'verified' (cross-checked)

What the tool does NOT do

✗ Interpret treaty articles for your situation
✗ Apply tie-breaker rules when two countries claim you as a tax resident
✗ Calculate your actual withholding rate for a specific transaction
✗ Claim you are "covered" by a treaty
✗ Recommend a payment structure or entity type

All of the above require treaty interpretation — which is highly fact-specific. Consult an international tax specialist for your situation.

Data sources

OECD Double Taxation Convention Database

The primary source for treaty status, signing dates, entered-in-force dates, and treaty text links. The OECD maintains the most comprehensive public database of bilateral tax treaties.

Source: https://www.oecd.org/tax/treaties/

Country Revenue Authorities

Where the OECD database lacks detail (e.g., specific withholding rate conditions), we supplement with data from official country revenue authority websites (IRS for the US, HMRC for the UK, ATO for Australia, etc.).

Examples: IRS International Tax Treaties, HMCTS Treaties

We do NOT use

Third-party tax blogs, personal websites, or non-authoritative sources. If a source is not an official government publication or OECD database, it is not used.

How withholding rates are presented

Every withholding rate on this site is paired with:

• Rate: The percentage published in the treaty text
• Condition: The specific circumstances under which this rate applies (e.g., "if recipient holds ≥10% of voting shares")
• Source Article: The treaty article reference (e.g., "Article 10 — Dividends")

⚠️ We never present a withholding rate as a bare number without its condition. A rate without conditions is meaningless — it could apply or not depending on your specific facts.

Data verification process

Seed All treaty records begin as dataStatus: 'seed'. They are structurally complete (all required fields populated) but have not been manually verified against primary sources.

Verified When a record is manually cross-checked against OECD publications and/or country authority websites, dataStatus is updated to 'verified' and lastVerified is set to today's date.

Priority Verification priority: (1) Estonia pairs (EE-X combinations) — benchmark dataset, (2) US-X pairs — highest search volume, (3) EU-pair grid — foundational pairs.

Need treaty interpretation for your situation?

The tool shows treaty structure and published rates — but whether a treaty applies to your situation, which articles govern, and what your actual withholding rate is, requires specialist analysis.