How to pay tax on peer to peer lending income?
Of course, taxation is something to keep in mind whenever investing
Risk/Reward ratio is affected by tax
Let's see how P2P lending might be taxed in some European countries Click To Tweet
How will peer to peer lending earned money be taxed? And what about P2P cashback bonuses? What happens when you refer a friend and earn a little bonus?
It can be easier than expected to pay tax on crowdlending income since most lending companies are working hard to make that …terrible moment a little less complicated.
Unfortunately I haven’t found an answer to all the questions, but ordinary tax problems are covered.
One of the oldest P2P lending websites in Europe has understood how much concern is building around this topic.
Hundreds of investors are flocking to alternative finance attracted by medium to high revenue. At the moment of investing, we don’t have to do anything in most cases. Normally the year after the investment we are required to report our activity to the taxman.
Data reported here are just opinions collected doing experience and doing research, I am not a fiscal advisor. These can be anyway a starting point to find out how much taxes you might be paying on your P2P lending profit.
Table of Contents
Risk/reward after tax
We are sometimes too focused on finding the right P2P tool. That’s fair, but the net profit after taxes is what counts.
Risk/reward ratio can be considered reasonable before tax, but what happens after tax?
So taxation has to be taken into account even if our average yearly interest is steady above 10%. I know most P2P investors exceed this level, so let’s find out.
When we analyze these profits in depth we find out that taxation on secondary market transactions profit might be different from the ordinary interest taxation.
What taxation applies to p2p cash backs on P2P lending?
Can I offset losses against earned interest?
Do I have to report my earnings even if this is left abroad and reinvested?
As you can see the subject is huge, even though in most cases and countries it is very simple to pay tax on social lending gains. We do recommend to seek professional advice if you are not too confident with the matter.
Every peer to peer lending website has an area where users can download their detailed tax report to submit in their country. This tax report is usually a simple PDF document where crucial numbers are reported. It is normally very easy to read also for the laypersons.
The Tax Report will be created for you immediately and any time of the year upon request.
Bondora tax report example
Here we have an example of how it looks like the report generation web page of Bondora.
There are several options to choose from but normally you will be asked “from when to when”, which is all that matters. 1st of January to 31st December is the normal time period for tax purpose.
For Bondora tax report just go to the Reports page, choose the period and click on the PDF icon. The result is immediate. On the Tax Report the most important rows are, of course, “Interest Received” and “Interest Repaid from Loans in Default”. Total interest is the sum of the two values.
If you want to know the earned capital gains from Secondary Market just tick the right box.
Bondora P2P how to declare taxes VIDEO
Bondora: How to declare P2P tax in Estonia (which may be similar to your country)
How to pay tax on Mintos P2P
Whenever I want a tax report from Mintos:
- I log into Mintos
- Click on my Name (top right)
- Click on my Account (drop down menu)
- Select “Tax report” (last element on the left bar)
- The report is delivered within seconds to the connected email address
And here is the tax report page from Mintos website.
Mintos tax report for German investors
Ho to pay tax on Mintos from Germany?
It’s very easy! Read why!
P2P lending investors in Germany have an extra benefit with Mintos.
Since many Mintos investors are German citizens, Mintos took care of this aspect for them.
Investors from Deutschland have a special tailor-made Mintos Tax Report, together with Latvian and Estonian.
Straight from Mintos Blog:
“If you are a resident of Germany, Estonia or Latvia, you will be able to access a full tax report which has been adjusted depending on your chosen country’s tax policies”.
Here is the Mintos P2P link in German language to the information provided specifically for them on the official website.
It's nice to be a German investor on Mintos! Click To TweetEstateGuru tax report
How to pay tax on real estate crowdlending profits?
Tax report from real estate crowdfunding EstateGuru is extremely bold:
Flender P2P tax report
Flender.ie is a very selective Irish based P2P in euros.
From a tax point of view it is just like any other P2P in Europe
One more P2P tax report example
Here is the Fixura social lending tax report page
The P2P tax survey
Peer to Peer investing tax in the UK
If you are tax resident in the UK you should smile!
Uk is the most advanced country in Europe on this topic and has always considered P2P lending as a resource for individuals and especially for small companies (watch the video below).
Taxation on P2P lending in the UK may be very different from the rest of Europe. Many British social lending platforms allow resident investors to tax deductions under a system called IFISA. It can be very convenient, with a 20k £ yearly allowance.
So beautiful.
In some European countries, P2P lending interest taxation can be a fixed percentage.
In many others, interest income can be taxed like capital gains.
Final thoughts on P2P tax
Most European citizens must declare the earned interest even if the profits are still virtual and the active strategy is to reinvest all the returns.
If for any reason we haven’t earned any profit in a calendar year, then we have no obligation of declaration, we only pay on actual interest payments.
Most of the times when declaring our income (as private citizens) we are not allowed to offset any losses against earned interest and income tax is payable on total interest received.
Investing in Peer to Peer loans as a company can bring some tax relief depending on the country of origin.
How to avoid / reduce / offset tax on P2P lending (..or not)
Every country is different, but also some P2P products claim to work differently.
Bondora Go & grow taxation may be very different.
This is not my opinion and I am not endorsing it. I just report what Bondora reported on their product page since it may be interesting for many readers.
Here is the PDF document about the terms of use of the Go & Grow.
Food for thought.
Bondora says Go & Grow investors only have to pay tax when they withdraw capital Is that true? Click To Tweet
If this is for real, most of us may be very interested in giving a second look at Go & Grow.
Why?
The compound interest on the investment would be much higher if I am not set back by tax year after year. Profits would get a big boost in the long term.
This info from Bondora should be double-checked with a tax expert in every specific country.
I have not been able to confirm how this applies.
What is your experience? Have you already paid P2P taxes in your nation? How was it?
Are you investing in one of the best P2P lending in Europe?
Do you have any questions or suggestions?
If you’ve found this article engaging, let your friends and colleagues know – share it on Facebook!
This blog is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment/legal/tax advice or an invitation to trade.
Does anyone have tax guidance on investing in P2P platforms in the EU and UK while living and a citizen of the United States?
Best to talk to your accountant, however I believe that as long as the platform lets you invest, and you declare everything to the IRS, as well as stick with FATCA reporting requirements, it’s just like any other international investment.