In 30 seconds
- P2P interest is taxed as investment income in all seven countries covered here - at flat rates between 25 and 30 percent in Germany, France, Italy and Portugal, on progressive scales up to 28 percent in Spain, under a wealth-tax proxy in the Netherlands, and as income in the UK.
- No European platform withholds tax at source for retail investors, so you declare the full amount yourself each year - unlike bank interest, where a withholding agent often sends a slice to the tax office before you see it.
- Germany offers a EUR 1,000 allowance (Sparerpauschbetrag), France charges a flat 30 percent PFU with no deduction, Spain uses a 19-28 percent scale with a small exemption, and Italy applies 26 percent on all capital income above EUR 2 of rounding.
- Default losses may be deductible in Germany and Spain if documented; France's flat-tax regime does not permit loss carry-forward; the UK allows peer-to-peer loan losses to offset other income in some cases.
- This guide is editorial context only - not tax advice. Rules change, treaties differ, and your personal situation matters. Consult a qualified tax adviser in your country before filing.
How P2P interest is classified across Europe
Every European tax authority treats peer-to-peer lending interest as investment income or capital gains, taxed at the same rates that apply to bank savings interest, bond coupons or dividend payments. The key difference is withholding: a bank in Germany sends 25 percent Abgeltungsteuer to the tax office before interest lands in your account, while Mintos in Riga credits the full amount and leaves the declaration to you. The liability is identical; the timing shifts. P2P platforms headquartered in Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia do not act as withholding agents for non-resident retail investors, so the gross interest appears in your account and you file the tax in your home country under domestic rules and any applicable double-taxation treaty.
Losses from defaults occupy a grey zone. If a loan on PeerBerry defaults and the buyback fails, German taxpayers can usually offset that capital loss against other investment gains in the same year, reducing the taxable base. Spanish investors report the loss in their annual declaration and may net it against savings income. French investors under the flat 30 percent PFU cannot carry losses forward within that regime. The UK permits peer-to-peer loan losses to offset other taxable income in certain conditions. The practical challenge is documentation: you need a year-end statement showing the loan principal written off, not just a screenshot of your portfolio.
Currency effects add another layer. If you fund a EUR 1,000 loan and receive EUR 1,100 back twelve months later, your taxable gain is EUR 100 - straightforward. If the same loan is denominated in GBP and the pound weakens against the euro between deposit and repayment, your EUR gain might be smaller than the nominal GBP interest, but most tax codes treat the transaction in your home currency only. Keep a spreadsheet that logs the EUR value on the day you invest and the day you withdraw; your tax office will ask for it if audited.
Country-by-country: rates, allowances and forms
| Country | Rate | Allowance | Form / Schedule | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 25% + solidarity | EUR 1,000/year | Anlage KAP | Losses offset gains same year |
| France | 30% flat (PFU) | None | Declaration 2047 | No loss carry-forward in PFU |
| Spain | 19-28% scale | Small exemption | Modelo 100 | Modelo 720 if balance > EUR 50k abroad |
| Italy | 26% flat | EUR 2 rounding | Quadro RL + RW | Foreign-asset disclosure mandatory |
| Netherlands | Box 3 wealth | EUR 57,000 (2026) | Aangifte IB | Deemed return, not actual interest |
| Portugal | 28% flat | None | Modelo 3 Anexo E | Withheld if Portuguese platform |
| UK | Income tax 20-45% | GBP 1,000 PSA | Self Assessment SA100 | IFISA closed April 2024; existing sheltered |
Germany: Abgeltungsteuer and the EUR 1,000 allowance
Germany taxes P2P interest at 25 percent Abgeltungsteuer plus 5.5 percent solidarity surcharge on the tax itself, bringing the effective rate to 26.375 percent. The first EUR 1,000 of investment income per year - covering bank interest, dividends and peer-to-peer returns - is exempt under the Sparerpauschbetrag. If you earn EUR 800 from Maclear and EUR 300 from a savings account, the first EUR 1,000 is tax-free and you pay 26.375 percent on the remaining EUR 100. You declare the income in Anlage KAP of your annual tax return. Losses from defaults can offset gains in the same tax year, reducing your taxable base; carry the loss forward if gains are insufficient. P2P platforms outside Germany do not withhold tax, so you self-assess and settle the liability when you file.
France: the flat 30 percent PFU
France introduced the Prelevement Forfaitaire Unique in 2018, a flat 30 percent rate that bundles income tax and social charges on investment income. P2P interest earned through a Latvian or Estonian platform falls into this bucket. There is no allowance and no deduction for default losses within the PFU regime - you pay 30 percent on the gross interest credited to your account. You report the income in Declaration 2047 for foreign-source income, and the tax office consolidates it with your main return. If your marginal income-tax rate is below 30 percent, you can opt out of the PFU and pay at your progressive rate instead, but that election applies to all investment income and few retail investors find it advantageous.
Spain: progressive scale from 19 to 28 percent
Spain taxes savings income - including P2P interest, dividends and capital gains - on a separate progressive scale: 19 percent on the first EUR 6,000, 21 percent from EUR 6,001 to EUR 50,000, 23 percent from EUR 50,001 to EUR 200,000, 27 percent from EUR 200,001 to EUR 300,000, and 28 percent above that. A small exemption of around EUR 1,500 applies to dividends only, not to interest. You declare P2P income in your annual Modelo 100 return. If your aggregate foreign-asset balance exceeds EUR 50,000 at year-end, you must also file Modelo 720, disclosing every overseas account and platform. Default losses can be netted against other savings income in the same year, reducing your taxable amount.
Italy: 26 percent flat and quadro RW
Italy charges 26 percent on all capital income above a negligible rounding threshold of EUR 2. P2P interest earned through a platform outside Italy is declared in Quadro RL of your annual return, and any foreign financial asset must also be disclosed in Quadro RW for the IVAFE wealth tax - currently 0.2 percent of the year-end balance. If you hold EUR 5,000 across two platforms, you pay 26 percent on the interest and EUR 10 in IVAFE. Italian banks can act as withholding agents for domestic securities, but peer-to-peer loans from Riga or Vilnius arrive gross, and you self-assess. Default losses may be deductible; consult a commercialista for the exact netting rules.
Netherlands: Box 3 deemed-return system
The Netherlands does not tax actual P2P interest; instead, it imposes a wealth tax on your net worth above EUR 57,000 per person (2026 threshold). Your peer-to-peer account balance at 1 January is added to your savings, shares and other assets, and the tax office applies a deemed return - currently around 6.04 percent - to that total wealth. You then pay 36 percent tax on the deemed return, not on the real interest you earned. If Robocash paid you EUR 500 in interest but your balance grew from EUR 10,000 to EUR 15,000, the tax calculation uses EUR 15,000 times the deemed percentage, regardless of whether you actually withdrew the EUR 500. You report the balance in your Aangifte IB. The Dutch Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that taxpayers can challenge the deemed return if it exceeds actual gains, but the administrative burden is high.
Portugal: 28 percent flat on capital income
Portugal taxes investment income at a flat 28 percent, with no allowance. If a Portuguese platform pays you interest, it withholds 28 percent at source and sends it to the tax authority; you receive the net and declare it in Modelo 3 Anexo E. If the platform is Latvian, you receive the gross amount and self-assess the 28 percent in the same annexe. Default losses are generally not deductible. Non-habitual residents under Portugal's NHR scheme paid zero tax on foreign-source investment income until the regime was reformed in 2024; consult current rules if you hold NHR status.
United Kingdom: income tax and the Personal Savings Allowance
The UK treats P2P interest as savings income, taxed at your marginal income-tax rate - 20 percent for basic-rate payers, 40 percent for higher-rate, 45 percent for additional-rate. The Personal Savings Allowance exempts the first GBP 1,000 of interest for basic-rate taxpayers and GBP 500 for higher-rate; additional-rate payers receive no allowance. If you earn GBP 1,200 in P2P interest and you are a basic-rate taxpayer, you pay 20 percent on GBP 200. You declare the income in box 1 of the SA100 Self Assessment return. Peer-to-peer loan losses can offset other taxable income if the platform is on the Financial Conduct Authority's register and you meet HMRC's conditions. The Innovative Finance ISA allowed tax-free P2P growth until April 2024, when new IFISA deposits were banned; existing holdings remain sheltered, but you cannot add fresh capital.
Practical tips for cross-border P2P tax filing
Download year-end statements from every platform in December, even if you plan to file in April. Platforms occasionally change their reporting format or merge with competitors, and retrieving historical data becomes harder. If you invested through multiple currencies, note the EUR exchange rate on the day each loan funded and the day it repaid; your tax office will want the gain calculated in your home currency. Keep a master spreadsheet listing platform name, loan ID, deposit date, repayment date, interest earned and any defaults - one row per transaction. Most authorities accept English-language statements, but translate key figures if your local tax office requires documentation in the national language.
Check whether your platform provides a tax certificate or summary. Mintos and PeerBerry offer annual statements that break down interest by month and flag any losses; attach these to your return. If a platform does not issue a certificate, your own spreadsheet and the account-history CSV export will suffice. If you hold accounts on more than five platforms, consider consolidating where practical - fewer statements mean fewer lines in your tax form and less room for transcription errors.
Set aside cash for the tax bill. Unlike a savings account where the bank withholds 25 percent before you see the interest, P2P platforms credit the full amount. If you earned EUR 2,000 in interest across three platforms, you owe between EUR 500 and EUR 600 in most European countries. Reinvesting the full EUR 2,000 leaves you short in April when the tax office sends the bill. A simple rule: move 30 percent of your monthly P2P interest into a separate savings account, untouched until you file. The balance sits there, earning a bit more interest, and you avoid the January scramble for liquidity.
In most countries, yes. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK all classify P2P lending interest as investment income or capital gains, taxed at the same flat rates or progressive scales that apply to bank savings interest or bond coupon payments. The difference is that P2P platforms are often not required to withhold tax at source, so you declare the income yourself in your annual return. The Netherlands is the exception: it taxes your net wealth at year-end under a deemed-return model, not the actual interest you earned. Everywhere else, the rate on EUR 100 of P2P interest matches the rate on EUR 100 of bank interest.
Tax authorities generally tax income when it becomes available to you - meaning when interest is credited to your account or when a loan repays. If a platform shows accrued interest that you cannot withdraw, that amount is typically not yet taxable. Once the interest lands in your wallet and you can spend or reinvest it, the clock starts. The Netherlands again differs: Box 3 looks at your total balance on 1 January, including accrued but unpaid interest if it is part of the account valuation. For Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and the UK, the trigger is cash receipt - when the platform says "you now have EUR X more", that EUR X enters your taxable income for the year.
Rules vary by country. In Germany, capital losses from one investment can usually be offset against capital gains from another within the same tax year; if your gains are insufficient, you carry the loss forward. In Spain, losses from P2P defaults may offset other savings income on the 19-28 percent scale. In France, the flat 30 percent PFU does not allow loss carry-forward within the flat-tax regime - you pay 30 percent on gross interest with no deduction for defaults. The UK permits losses on peer-to-peer loans to offset other income if the platform is FCA-registered and you meet HMRC's conditions. Italy allows loss offsets in principle; consult a commercialista for the exact netting rules. The key is documentation: a year-end statement from the platform showing the loan principal written off, not just a balance drop.
You pay tax in your country of tax residence - Germany in this example - regardless of where the platform is headquartered. Latvia does not withhold tax on interest paid to non-resident retail investors; the full amount lands in your account, and you declare it in your German Anlage KAP. The Abgeltungsteuer at 25 percent plus solidarity surcharge applies, minus your EUR 1,000 Sparerpauschbetrag if you have not used it elsewhere. Double-taxation treaties between Germany and Latvia ensure you are not taxed twice, but the primary tax liability sits with your home country. The same principle holds for all cross-border P2P: residence determines the tax, not the platform's address.
The UK's Innovative Finance ISA allowed P2P interest to grow tax-free until the IFISA was closed to new deposits in April 2024; existing IFISA holdings remain sheltered, but you cannot add fresh capital. Outside the UK, no major European country offers a dedicated tax wrapper for peer-to-peer lending. France's PEA equity savings plan and Italy's PIR investment plan exclude P2P loans. Germany's Riester and Ruerup pensions do not permit direct P2P exposure. Portugal's former NHR scheme exempted foreign investment income for new residents, but that window closed in 2024 for most applicants. The practical answer is that most European P2P investors hold their accounts in taxable wrappers and declare the income each year at the standard capital-gains or savings rate.
Download year-end statements from every platform, showing total interest received, any defaults written off, and fees charged. Keep a spreadsheet listing each deposit, the EUR equivalent on the day you invested if the loan was in another currency, and the date interest was paid. If a platform provides a tax certificate - Mintos and PeerBerry do - file it with your return. Most authorities accept English-language statements; translate key figures into your national language if your tax office requires it. For the Netherlands, note your 1 January balance each year; for Spain, track whether your aggregate foreign holdings exceed EUR 50,000, triggering Modelo 720. Retain these records for at least six years; Germany and Italy can audit up to ten years back in cases of suspected under-declaration.
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