Folio iThe path of one dividend
Five marks lie between a company announcing a dividend and that dividend appearing in your tax return. The terms below are the ASX glossary’s; the tax treatment is the ATO’s.
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Announced
A rate per share
A dividend is usually given in cents per share: in the ASX’s notation, 19 means 19 cents and 7.5 means 7.5 cents. Many listed companies pay twice a year, a smaller interim dividend and a larger final one.
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Ex-dividend date
The cut-off for buyers
Usually one business day before the record date. To receive the dividend, a buyer must have bought the shares before this day.
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Record date
Who is on the register
The holders on the company’s register on this date are the ones entitled to the dividend.
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Payment date
Money in, or new shares
The payment date on your statement decides which income year the dividend belongs to. A dividend can be paid as money or as other property, including shares.
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Tax return
Declared, every time
All dividend income goes in your tax return, including a dividend you reinvested in more shares. Franking credits you are entitled to are included as well.
The dates in full: ex-dividend dates, record dates and who gets paid.
Folio ii · Coupons 1 to 6Six guides
Each guide answers one question, from the official pages of the ATO, ASIC’s Moneysmart and the ASX.
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Coupon No. 1
What a dividend is
Where the money comes from, interim, final and special dividends, and how a dividend differs from capital growth.
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Coupon No. 2
Franking credits
The imputation system, the ATO’s worked sums, refunds, and the 45-day holding period rule.
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Coupon No. 3
Dividend reinvestment plans
Taking shares instead of cash, and why the tax return still counts the dividend.
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Coupon No. 4
Ex-dividend dates
Cum and ex, the record date, settlement, and where to look up a company’s dates.
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Coupon No. 5
Dividends and tax records
What a dividend statement shows, what to keep, and for how long.
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Coupon No. 6
The risks of chasing yield
Why a high yield can be a warning, and what Moneysmart says to check first.
Folio iiiA dividend statement, in the ATO’s own example
When an Australian company pays you a dividend, it must also send you a statement. Among other things, the statement gives the date and amount of the payment, the franking credit, how much of the dividend is franked and how much is unfranked, and any tax withheld because you did not give the company your tax file number.
The ATO’s guide You and your shares 2026 works one example through several sections: a shareholder is paid a fully franked dividend of $700 and an unfranked dividend of $200, with a $300 franking credit attached, so his assessable dividend income is $1,200. The franking credit is added to his income, and then used as a tax offset to reduce the tax he pays.
Why the credit is added to income and then taken off the tax, and when it can become a refund, is the subject of the franking credits guide. What to keep from each statement is in dividends and tax records.
Dividend statementWorked example
- Unfranked dividend
- $200
- Franked dividend
- $700
- Franking credit
- $300
- Assessable dividend income
- $1,200
Folio ivWhere the official answers are kept
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The tax rules
The ATO’s guide You and your shares 2026 explains how dividends and franking credits are taxed for Australian residents.
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Shares and their risks
ASIC’s Moneysmart website covers how shares work, how to buy and sell them, and the risks that come with them.
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Announced dividends
The ASX points to its dividend search for dividend information on listed securities, searching up to 10 company names or codes at a time.
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Your own holding
For your own dividend payments, statements or a reinvestment plan, the ASX says to contact the company’s share registry. Listed companies appoint registries to run their registers of holders.
For unclaimed money that a share registry no longer holds, the ASX refers investors to ASIC’s Moneysmart website. ASIC holds records of unclaimed money from shares and investments, and Moneysmart sets out how to search and claim it.