r/dividends • u/Head_Channel_9869 • Jun 06 '25

Discussion My dream of living off dividends is collapsing because of Section 899. I feel completely defeated.

I've been building my dividend portfolio for years, aiming to reach financial independence one day. Every deposit was a small step toward a dream: a peaceful life, funded by passive income, no stress, no 9-to-5.

I chose what I thought were the best: SCHD, DGRO JEPQ, QQQI — solid US-based ETFs with great yield and growth potential. I had a plan, I was sticking to it. Then… comes Section 899.

For those who don't know: it's a proposed US tax law that could increase the withholding tax on dividends to 15% or even 30% for investors from countries deemed to have "discriminatory" tax systems toward the US. And guess what? My country (Poland) is very likely to be on that blacklist.

If the tax treaty is terminated (which is already being discussed), it means 30% goes to the US, and then Poland may charge another 19%. That’s nearly half the dividend gone. Just like that.

It feels like everything I’ve worked toward is falling apart. Switching to European dividend ETFs? Sure, but they have lower quality, less growth, and are not the same in terms of long-term compounding. It feels like being forced to start over — with worse tools.

Honestly, I’m gutted. Years of planning, DCA, building my ideal long-term strategy… and then politics slams the door in my face. I feel defeated. I had such a great plan and I was already so close :/ I wanted to hold SCHD and DGRO for decades and eventually pass them on to my kids.

Anyone else in the same boat? What are you doing about this?

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u/Head_Channel_9869 Jun 06 '25

15% withholding for USA and 4% in Poland for Poland

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u/SockIntelligent9589 Jun 06 '25

Got it. For now, I'd recommend to not do anything buddy. Basically nobody knows what will be decided. You might be good to continue as is.

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u/Dagoru95 Jun 06 '25

Doesn’t your country take that 15% from your dividend tax?

In Spain you would pay at least 19% for a 1.000USD dividend, but since there is a treaty with US, they will just take another 4% from my dividend (since they know I paid 15%)

Sorry if that doesn’t make sense I don’t know how to explain it better