Intro

Online trading is booming - Online traders can buy and sell 1000’s of types of securities with a simple tap on their phone. Yet every action is subjected to Capital Gains Taxes - creating a huge backlog of tax implications from reporting to paying and reclaiming, in a system which was never designed for this culture.

The Problem

Traders lose their overview, leave money on the table, or face surprise tax bills, uncertainty and risk of repercussions from the authorities, leading to inaction and over/under paying.

The problem only deepens when tax advisors, who should be able help, can’t even reconcile the right sums and end up declining customers.

And brokers - the ones you’d expect to handle it - fail miserably because taxes aren’t their business, facing user frustration and public backlash.

Research

We asked 80 traders:

• 75% of our responders were **surprised by last year’s tax bill when they saw it.

• Only 29.4% of them claim they know exactly what their liabilities are.

• 76.5% of them want more tax visibility - only 7.8% think it’s irrelevant.

• Only 16% claim they actually know how to optimize their taxes - 56% don’t even know the principles.

• 70.3% would strategically realize gains/losses - if they had better visibility, indicating a behavioral change.

• Tax advisors also lack the tools and often competence to handle capital gains tax optimization, causing customer dissatisfaction.

Our Solution

By reconstructing trading data from its raw components, Foretax establishes a standardized tax protocol connecting traders, advisors, and brokers.

• Today: Traders gain visibility into their tax position and uncover optimization opportunities.

• Next: Tax advisors can reconcile complex portfolios efficiently and onboard clients they previously turned down.

• Later: Brokers can display after-tax performance - closing the loop for all parties.

Foretax turns fragmented trading data into infrastructure - transforming taxes from a headache into an integrated part of the trading process.

Market Opportunity

Tier Type of Trader Description Pain Est. Size (DE)

1. Domestic, single broker Uses one neo-broker; needs basic tax clarity/optimization Low ~1.2 M

2. Multi-broker domestic Uses 2–3 local brokers; struggles to unify tax view Medium ~600 k

3. Cross-border / complex Domestic + foreign brokers; multiple portfolios; often rejected by advisors High ~200 k

• B2C (Retail Traders): Our core users are active traders (3+ trades/year) with taxable brokerage accounts. In Germany alone, ~1.8M active traders (≈15% of all investors, ~2% of adults). Across Europe, the active trader pool is ~10M+, growing fast with neo-broker adoption.

• B2B2C (Platforms):

  • Neo-brokers (Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, flatexDEGIRO, etc.) with millions of users each, many struggling to provide tax clarity.

  • Wealth/Portfolio apps (Getquin, Parqet, maybefinance) as a secondary channel, integrating tax transparency into existing investor dashboards.

  • Gap: No white-label tax-optimization solution exists for brokers or wealth platforms today.

• TAM: ~10M+ active traders in Europe.

• SAM: ~2M active traders in Germany, especially via neo-brokers.

• SOM: 50k-100k users in 1-2 years (2-5% of German active traders) through direct B2C and 1-2 broker partnerships.
  
  

  Current Status & Traction

• We’re bootstrapping since January 2025, self funded + friends and family

• Built web-app where users can upload broker data and get tax projections, run simulations, get optimization suggestions and current status & tax health

• Partnered with tax advisor as legal/compliance system auditor and evangelist

• Currently onboarding first cohort of 3 pilot customers

Foretax can be implemented in several verticals of the digital asset trading domain:

• Direct B2C: traders will save money and enjoy clarity

• B2B2C Tax Advisor Evangelists: Tax advisors will be able to approve reports and give tax advice and offer better service

• B2B2C White Label: Brokers and other financial services will deliver added value by showing post-tax performance thus increasing customer retention

Even the Finanzamt will enjoy better, more coherent reporting

Monetization & Business Plan

Foretax follows a hybrid B2B2C model that monetizes both tax clarity and infrastructure.

• Traders subscribe to monthly or quarterly plans for ongoing tax visibility and optimisation, or pay one-off fees for certified reports.

• Tax advisors license Foretax per active client, gaining automation and new billable services; Foretax earns per-use or per-seat revenue.

• Brokers and wealth platforms integrate Foretax via API or white-label, paying usage-based or revenue-share fees for after-tax performance features.

• Optional performance layer: small percentage on realised savings or transactions triggered through Foretax insights.

This structure creates recurring revenue on three levels - end-user engagement, advisor adoption, and broker integration - all compounding around one core job: turning tax complexity into clarity.

Competition

• Direct: No dedicated tax-optimization product for retail traders exists today.

• Adjacent:

  • Brokers: Some explored similar tools but stalled due to regulatory incompetence.

  • Fintegra: Provides tax optimization as a service, not productized for self-serve retail or B2B.

  • Scalable Capital: Hired for a tax optimization initiative (July) but no visible product launch.

• White Space: No B2B white-label solution available for brokers, wealth apps, or trading platforms.

• Our Edge: Independent, broker-agnostic, with advisor partnership baked in from the start — positioned for both retail and white-label B2B.

• Div-Tax: https://www.div.tax/ Recently discovered, DIV.Tax handles the reclaim process of foreign withholding tax on dividends. Not direct competition but could be an interesting integration

Why Now?

• Retail adoption: structural rise in retail trading.

• Fragmentation: multi-broker behavior makes tax reconciliation unavoidable.

• Tech shift: standardized exports/APIs (IBKR, Upvest, etc.) make automation feasible.

• Behavioral timing: higher rates increase after-tax performance relevance.

• Competitive vacuum: independents can partner where brokers can’t.

Team

Adam Gramse - CXO/Design (founder): fintech UX/UI, research
Yuna Morgenstern – CTO/Engineering (co-founder): automation, data pipelines, integrations
Ithai Gramse – Engineering: front-end/dev support
Dipl.-Kfm. Marcus Kemper – Tax advisor: domain expertise, auditing, evangelism

Roadmap

Stage 1 - Validation (Year 1)

Prove that tax clarity creates measurable value.
Finish advisor-validated product, onboard 3-5 Kanzleien, and verify > 90 % accuracy on real trading data.

Outcome: confirmed problem/solution fit and first paying users.

Stage 2 - Integration (Years 2-3)

Turn Foretax into infrastructure advisors and brokers can plug into.
Add API and white-label capabilities, multi-broker aggregation, and advisor workspaces.

Outcome: solution/market fit and first institutional integration.

Stage 3 - Expansion (Year 4 +)

Scale Foretax into the default tax-transparency layer across brokers and advisors in Germany, preparing EU rollout.

Broaden asset coverage (funds, crypto, derivatives) and launch partner portals.
Outcome: repeatable business model, multi-partner revenue streams, and readiness for international expansion.

Ask & Cost plan

We’re raising ~€700 K pre-seed to fund 12 months of focused execution - completing the advisor-validated version of Foretax and preparing the first broker integration.

Allocation (approximate):

• 40 % Founder runway - core team full-time to drive product, pilots, and GTM

• 35 % Product & development - finish ingestion engine, dashboard, advisor portal

• 15 % Marketing & sales - advisor outreach, awareness, fractional GTM & BD

• 10 % Legal, infra & ops - compliance, tools, admin, contingency

Outcome: 3-5 tax-advisor pilots live, verified 90 %+ accuracy, first broker sandbox ready.

Reach out for a live demo of our tool and diligent materials!

We’re happy to hear from you!
Adam
adam.g@foretax.de