Executive summary

On 30 September 2025, the European Commission published a recommendation on the introduction and design of Savings and Investment Accounts (Recommendation). The aim is to strengthen citizens' retail participation in European Union (EU) capital markets and promote their long-term saving and investment in European businesses.

The Recommendation for Savings and Investment Accounts (SIAs) proposes that Member States introduce accounts with favorable tax treatment, for example by delaying taxation on the income used to feed the account and the return on this investment until payout to the investor. SIAs should also have automated and simple tax compliance for investors, fair and transparent fees and ensure tax-neutral portfolio transfers between providers (including cross-border). Member States should regularly evaluate their frameworks and report on implementation and uptake to the Commission. The Recommendation is not binding on Member States.

Detailed discussion

Background: Strategy for the Savings and Investments Union

On 19 March 2025, the Commission published its strategy for the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) along with a Q&A and a factsheet. The strategy aims to improve how the EU financial system channels savings into productive investments, thereby creating more and broader financial opportunities for both individuals and businesses.

As part of this initiative, the Commission encourages Member States to establish SIAs, which are designed as advantaged and flexible accounts for EU citizens.

Recommendation for the Savings and Investment Accounts

The Commission published its Recommendation along with a Q&A and a factsheet. In addition, the Commission has published a staff working document that provides an in-depth explanation of the background, policy choices and detailed reasoning behind the scope of eligible and excluded instruments.

SIAs allow investments in a wide range of financial instruments, including Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Undertakings in Collective Investment Schemes (UCITS), Euro-Led Exchange-Traded Funds (ELTIFs) bonds and structured products, while offering simplified compliance and cross-border portability. Highly risky or complex financial instruments, including complex derivatives and crypto-assets, should be excluded from SIAs unless they are recognized as eligible financial instruments under the relevant regulations, the Commission recommends.

The Recommendation for SIAs reflects a direct objective of the SIU, supporting the mobilization of private savings, reducing market fragmentation and channeling more private capital into productive investments in the EU. In doing so, the Commission expects the initiative will contribute to the EU's broader competitiveness goals. Notably, the SIA Recommendation is primarily situated within the "Citizens and Savings" pillar of the SIU strategy. The Recommendation was inspired by a review of existing regimes in EU and third countries.

The Recommendation sets out a European blueprint for SIAs with the aim to make retail investing simpler, more accessible and tax-advantaged, so citizens can get more out of their savings while expanding funding for EU companies and strategic priorities. It aims to remove "frictions" (high transfer costs, complex tax compliance, fragmented rules) and to open provision to cross-border competition. The Recommendation specifically targets frictions in the current system, such as high transfer costs, complex tax compliance and fragmented national rules. It also seeks to open SIA provision to cross-border competition, ensuring that financial service providers from any Member State can offer SIAs under equal conditions, thereby increasing choice and competition for retail investors.

Portfolio portability and capped transfer costs

One key element of the Recommendation is the principle of portfolio portability and capped transfer costs. The Commission recommends that transferring an investor's entire SIA portfolio between providers, whether domestically or cross-border, should not trigger an income tax event or undermine existing tax benefits. This principle applies even if the transfer involves selling and repurchasing assets and is subject only to bilateral double taxation treaties and Member States' taxing rights in the event of a change of tax residence.

Furthermore, the Recommendation emphasizes that costs and fees for opening and operating an SIA must be fair, proportionate and transparent. Transfer fees should be limited strictly to administrative costs and must be clearly disclosed in the terms and conditions, ensuring that investors are not deterred from switching providers due to hidden or excessive charges.

Facilitated tax compliance

Another central feature of the Recommendation is facilitated tax compliance. The Recommendation encourages Member States to establish frameworks that enable SIA providers to collect and withhold tax on behalf of account holders and/or share all relevant data with tax authorities. This data could be used to pre-fill tax returns, thereby reducing the administrative burden on investors. Importantly, cross-border providers must be able to offer these services on equal terms with domestic providers, supporting the goal of establishing a single market for SIAs.

Beneficial tax treatment

Regarding beneficial tax treatment, the Recommendation urges Member States to introduce tax incentives and ensure that SIAs and assets held in SIAs receive at least the most favorable tax treatment available to any asset class, investment product or account under national law. The Commission lists several possible mechanisms for these incentives, including deductions from the taxable base, exemptions, tax deferrals (such as taxing only upon withdrawal) and the application of a uniform standardized tax rate to SIA income or asset values. These options are intended to make SIAs attractive to a broad range of savers and investors.

Implementation, alignment and reporting

For implementation, alignment and reporting, the Recommendation encourages Member States to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of their SIA frameworks, including the frameworks' impact on wealth creation and support for EU economic priorities. Member States should track uptake, assets invested and the budget impact of any tax incentives.

To accelerate the creation of a single market for SIAs, the Recommendation also encourages Member States to exchange best practices, align criteria for tax incentives as much as possible, facilitate cross-border portability and introduce measures to avoid double taxation, especially when investors change tax residence within the EU.

Reporting on these measures should occur regularly, both through SIU-related monitoring processes and as part of the 2027 SIU Midterm Review.

Next steps

Member States are now expected to establish national frameworks for SIAs, carefully assess how they want to design and implement these accounts and regularly evaluate the effectiveness and uptake of the measures they introduce.

Member States are invited to inform the Commission of the measures taken based on the Recommendation and to report on the actual uptake of SIAs. This reporting should be done through the SIU-related monitoring processes and in the context of the Midterm Review of the Savings and Investments Union strategy, which is scheduled for 2027.

Implications

Commission Recommendations are issued under Article 292 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and are not legally binding on Member States. Even though it is not legally binding, the Recommendation might still send a clear political signal and may prepare the ground for national legislation. As the proposal may lead to the deferral of taxation on the income that is used to feed the investment and the taxation of the return on investment, implementation of the Recommendation could have significant budgetary consequences for Member States.

SIAs may give citizens easier access to standardized savings and investment accounts that could serve as a gateway into capital markets. By improving portability and switching options, it might also stimulate greater competition among providers, which may result in lower costs and more choice for retail investors.

Financial services providers may introduce or adjust their products and systems to align with an EU-wide template for SIA accounts, which might increase compliance costs. At the same time, these adjustments may allow providers to access larger cross-border markets and serve a growing European market of consumer investors.