USD 100,000 on a bank platform
0.65% in fees is USD 650 a year. At a low-cost broker the same portfolio costs about USD 80. Add USD 300 of creditable withholding tax and you keep roughly USD 870 a year.
Free calculator
Broker fee & tax optimizer
Two things quietly eat a portfolio: the percentage fee your platform charges every year, and the withholding tax you never reclaim. Put your own numbers in and see what both cost you. A USD 500,000 portfolio earning 5% with a 0.75% platform fee saves around USD 3,350 a year by switching broker, plus USD 1,500 in creditable tax.
What it costs you
Total annual tax cost
USD 1,500
15% withheld on USD 10,000 of dividends before it reaches you.
Total annual broker fees
USD 3,750
0.75% of your portfolio, charged whether markets rise or fall.
Savings if you switch broker
USD 3,350
Down from USD 3,750 to USD 400 a year for the same holdings.
Tax recovered via treaty relief
USD 1,500
Withholding tax you can credit against your domestic tax each year.
Total you could keep every year
USD 4,850
That is USD 48,500 over ten years before any compounding, on annual returns of USD 25,000. Fees you never pay stay invested and keep earning.
Referral link: ibkr.com/referral/marco1592. The bonus is paid by Interactive Brokers. Using it costs you nothing extra.
Three worked examples
USD 500,000 earning 5%
A 0.75% platform fee costs USD 3,750 against USD 400 elsewhere. That is USD 3,350 saved, plus USD 1,500 of US withholding tax credited back through treaty relief.
USD 1,000,000 portfolio
The gap becomes USD 6,700 a year in fees alone. Over a decade, with the money left invested, that difference is worth well over USD 80,000.
This calculator is a simplified model. It assumes the withholding tax on your dividends is fully creditable against your domestic tax, which is the normal case for US-listed holdings when a W-8BEN is on file and your country has a tax treaty with the US, and it ignores income tax, capital gains tax, wealth taxes and compounding. Rules differ by country of residence. This is general information, not tax advice: check your own situation with your local tax authority or an adviser.