Retail and joint accounts - Source of Funds (SoF) documentation explained

In certain situations, Saxo is required to request documentation to verify your Source of Funds (SoF). This helps us confirm that the money used to fund your account comes from legitimate sources, in line with regulatory requirements. This is part of our legal obligations under anti-money laundering regulations and helps ensure a secure and compliant environment for all clients.

You may also include a brief explanation of your Source of Funds to support your documentation. This can help us better understand how your account will be funded and support a smoother review process.

What is Source of Funds (SoF)?

Source of Funds refers to how you obtained the money you plan to deposit into your Saxo account (e.g. salary, savings, investment returns, or the sale of assets).

General Requirements

Documents must clearly show the following:

• Your name
• The Source of Funds
• Relevant dates

Documents should normally be recent and finalised (e.g. tax returns must be submitted to the tax authority)

In some cases, we may ask for a short explanation to support the documentation.

Accepted Sources of Funds

This article outlines the most common types of income sources and the documents you may be asked to provide. Please note that requirements may vary depending on your situation, and this list is not exhaustive. 
This article covers the following Source of Funds:

• Income from employment
• Self-employed income
• Freelancers
• Income from retirement
• Company sale
• Inheritance
• Gifts and donations
• Allowance from close family member
• Loans
• Savings from a fixed-deposit account
• Trading profits
• Proceeds from lottery, betting, etc.
• Dividends
• Sale of real estate/property
• Rental income from real estate
• Insurance payments
• Royalties
• Sale/trade of crypto assets

Income from employment

If your income comes from employment, please provide one of the following:

• The latest annual tax return (this must be the finalised version from the tax authority. Tax declarations not submitted to the tax authority are not valid). 
• Copy of the three most recent salary slips (and bonus payments if applicable), showing the average monthly salary or yearly salary. 
• Bank statement showing receipt of the three most recent salary payments from the employer. 

If a substantial SoF derives from bonus payments, provide the annual bonus statement issued by the employer. 

Self-employed income

If your Source of Funds originates from being self-employed, please provide one of the following:

• Copy of the three most recent invoices from the contracted counterparty. 
• Contracts with the counterparty and bank statements clearly showing the three most recent payments from the counterparty mentioned in the contract.
• The latest annual tax return (this must be the finalised version from the tax authority. Tax declarations not submitted to the tax authorities are not valid). 

Freelancers

For freelance clients (defined as a natural person who earns their income on a per-job basis as an independent contractor or similar), please provide one of the following:

• Copy of the three most recent invoices from the contracted counterparty and a bank statement clearly showing the payments received from the counterparties mentioned in the invoices. 
• Most recent and finalised tax statement.
• Contracts with the counterparty and bank statements clearly showing the three most recent payments from the counterparty mentioned in the contract. 

Income from retirement

If your pension is with a pension provider, please provide the following:

• Pension statement from your pension provider including information about the retirement date and the last employer.  

If your pension stems from private savings, please provide all of the following:

• Bank statement showing the pension amount.
• Documentation of the source of income from which the pension savings were accumulated.  

Company sale

If your Source of Funds originates from a company sale, please provide one of the following:

• Copy of contract of sale signed by seller and buyer, plus bank statement showing the proceeds. 
• Signed letter from solicitor/lawyer or regulated accountant including details of the sale, such as the date, amount and company identification.

Providing additional context about the sale (e.g. the company, your role, or details of the transaction) may help us process your documentation more efficiently.

Inheritance

The following document should be the standard document to obtain: 

• Grant of probate (with a copy of the Will) which must include the value of the estate and your relationship to the deceased.
  • If no will exists, provide a signed letter from a solicitor or lawyer confirming your share of the estate, the total value of the estate, your relationship to the deceased, and that the distribution of the estate has occurred according to the rules of intestacy of the jurisdiction. 
• Bank statement showing the transaction (if the inheritance occurred within the past five years).
• Finalised inheritance tax return.

If it is not common practice in the jurisdiction to have such documentation in the event of an inheritance distribution, provide a signed letter from a solicitor/lawyer confirming your share of the estate, total value of the estate, relation to the deceased and that the distribution of the estate has occurred.

Gifts and donations

A gift or donation is defined as a voluntary transfer of funds or property without the expectation or receipt of remuneration for the transfer.  

In both cases please provide all of the following: 

• Declaration from you explaining the date of the gift/donation, amount, name of the grantor, clarification of your relationship with the grantor, the reason for the gift/donation and a detailed explanation on how the grantor acquired their SOW. The declaration must be signed by both you and the grantor.
• Bank statement showing receipt of the funds from the grantor, if available. If not, please provide a brief explanation as to why not.

Allowance from close family member

An allowance is defined as a regular granting of funds, typically monthly, to a person for the purpose of financially supporting the person in their expenses and/or leisurely activities.  

In this context a close family member consists of father, mother, spouse, grandparents, children and legal guardian. 

If your Source of Funds originates from allowances from one or multiple family members, please provide the following:

• Declaration from you explaining the frequency of the allowance, amount, name of the grantor, clarification of your relationship with the grantor, the reason for the allowance and a detailed explanation on how the grantor acquired their SOW. The declaration must be signed by you.
• Bank statement showing receipt of the allowance payments from the grantor, if available. If not, please provide a brief explanation as to why not.

Please note the bank statement period depends on the frequency of the allowance. You need to document at least the three most recent allowance payments.  

Loans

If your loan for Source of Funds was provided by a financial institution, you will need to provide the loan agreement issued by the loan provider.

If your loan for Source of Funds was provided by an individual or a company (where loan provision is not part of their usual business), please provide all of the following:

• The loan agreement between the loan provider and the loan borrower.  
• Documentation of the transfer of the loan amount from the specified loan provider, such as a bank statement showing the complete transfer amount. 
• A declaration from you explaining the purpose of the loan.
• Documentation of how the loan provider accumulated the funds that have been loaned out. We do not need documentation of the specific funds which were used in the loan, but documentation that may justify that the loan provider had the required liquidity to provide such a loan. 

If the loan provider is a company, relevant Source of Wealth (SOW) documentation for the company may be required.

Savings from a fixed-deposit account

A fixed-deposit account is a special type of account in which a person pays a fixed amount into an account with a guaranteed interest rate usually higher than that of a savings account or current account. The deposits remain in the account for a stipulated period. During this period, the person holding the account will not be able to withdraw the funds before the due date. Certain providers might allow premature withdrawals, but such exemptions would be stated in the agreement between the provider and you.  

If your Source of Funds originates from such an account, please provide all of the following:

• Savings statement including the name of the bank, the account number (or account ID) and the due date. 
• If the due date has not been reached, you must document that premature withdrawals are permitted by the account provider. 
• Evidence of account start (letter from account provider or first statement).
• Details of how the savings were accumulated and documentation of their SoF. 

Trading profits

If your Source of Funds originates from personal trading activity, please provide all of the following:

• Trading account statement or Portfolio statement.
• Bank statement showing the transfer between the trading account and your personal account.

Generally, an explanation of the original source of funds used for the trading activity is sufficient, and we do not usually require additional documentation to support the original source of funds.

Proceeds from lottery, betting, etc.

If your Source of Funds originates from lottery winnings or betting activities, please provide the following:

• Letter, receipt or account statement from relevant organization (lottery headquarters, betting shop, casino).
• Bank statement showing funds deposited by company name.  
• Information on the initial Source of Funds used for the betting activity (only applicable in cases where you are consistently betting large sums of money).  

Dividends

If your Source of Funds originates from dividends, please provide the following:

• Dividend Statement / Dividend receipt.
• Documentation must show your name, dividend amount and the name of the company paying the dividend.

If the dividends derive from your own company, please provide all of the following:

• Audited Financial Statements, including the information regarding the dividend amount and the shareholders. 
• Bank statement clearly showing date of receipt and amount of funds plus name of company paying the dividend.

Since not all companies are required to audit their financial statements, as an alternative to audited financial statements, please provide all of the following: 

• Financial statements signed by a director.
• Tax submission and tax return documents. 
• Proof of submission to the tax authority.

Sale of real estate/property

If your Source of Funds originates from a sale of real estate, please provide one of the following:  

• Signed letter from solicitor/lawyer; or regulated accountant; or  
• Signed letter from estate agent (if applicable); or 
• Copy of sale contract.

Rental income from real estate

If your Source of Funds originates from rental income generated by renting out your real estate property, please provide the following documentation:

• Copy of the tenancy agreement.
• The latest bank statement showing corresponding rental income in the last three months for the property, relating to the copy of the tenancy agreement provided.

Insurance payments

If your Source of Funds originates from an insurance payout, you may be asked to provide documentation confirming the payment. This typically includes:

• Policy liquidation document from the insurance company to evidence the amount received by the beneficiary.
• Bank statement evidencing the receipt of the insurance payment.

If needed, you may also be asked to provide a short explanation about the type of insurance.

Royalties

Income from royalties is money you earn when others use your intellectual property—such as creative works, inventions, or natural resources—and pay you for the right to do so. The intellectual property can be owned by a company or directly by an individual.  

If your Source of Funds comes from royalties, you may be asked to provide documentation confirming this income. This typically includes:

• A tax return showing the reported income.
• A royalty statement or similar document detailing the payments received.

If the royalties are received through a company, financial documents such as a profit and loss statement may be required. 

If needed, you may also be asked to provide a brief explanation of the source of the royalties.

Sale/trade of crypto assets

If your Source of Funds comes from the sale or trading of crypto assets, you may be asked to provide documentation confirming this activity. This typically includes:

• Trading account or exchange statements.
• Portfolio statement.

In addition, we may also need to understand how the funds originally used for crypto trading were obtained. In most cases, a brief explanation is sufficient and no additional documentation is required.

In some situations, additional information may be requested, such as:

• Documentation related to the original source of funds used to purchase crypto assets.
• Details about your crypto trading activity.
• Information about the exchange or wallet used.

If needed, you may also be asked to provide more information on your crypto-trading activities.