Coupon No. 5 of 6

Dividend statements and the tax records to keep

The ATO asks shareholders to keep their dividend statements, and the records of what they paid for their shares until well after they sell them. For a share investment, its guide says that, as a general rule, income and deduction records should be kept until 5 years have passed from 31 October 2026 or from the day you lodge your return, whichever comes later, and capital gains records until 5 years after you dispose of the shares.

General information, not tax advice. The ATO’s record keeping section of You and your shares 2026 is the official place to check what to keep.

iReading the statement, line by line

An Australian company that pays you a dividend must send you a statement. Each line on it has a job in your tax return.

What a dividend statement must show, and why it matters
On the statementWhat it is for
Who paid, and the dateThe payment date decides which income year the dividend belongs to.
The amountAll dividend income is declared, including dividends you reinvested.
Franked and unfranked partsBoth go into your assessable income.
Franking credit and franking percentageThe credit is included in income too, if you are entitled to the franking tax offset for it.
Conduit foreign incomeAn unfranked amount declared as conduit foreign income is shown as an unfranked dividend.
TFN amount withheldTax held back because the company did not have your tax file number. You add it to the unfranked amount you declare, and receive a credit for it.

The list of what a statement must show is the ATO’s, grouped here into six rows.

The rate is high. For 2025–26 the company must deduct tax from the unfranked part at the top individual rate of 45% plus the 2% Medicare levy, 47% in all. In the ATO’s example, the shareholder had given the company his TFN, so no TFN amount was withheld.

If a statement goes missing, the ASX says you can usually download a copy from the share registry’s website, or contact the registry.

iiWhat to keep, and for how long

  • Every dividend statement

    Statements from companies that pay franked dividends, and from any trust or partnership that passes on a franking credit, showing the franked amount, unfranked amount, franking credit, date of payment and tax withheld.

  • Records of each purchase and sale

    For shares acquired on or after 20 September 1985, records in English of the date you acquired them, the amounts that make up their cost base, the date you disposed of them and what you received.

  • Reinvested dividends

    A record of each dividend you reinvested, to work out a capital gain or loss when you sell the shares it bought. See dividend reinvestment plans.

  • Company notices

    All the information a company gives you about your shares, which may matter when you work out capital gains tax after you sell.

  • Costs you claim

    Records of expenses you incur in owning your investments.

The two clocks

Income and deduction records run on one clock: 5 years from 31 October 2026 or the date you lodge, whichever is later, for the 2025–26 year. Capital gains records run on another: 5 years from the date you dispose of the shares. A parcel held for a long time means records kept for that long, plus 5 years.

The ATO describes one way to shorten that: an asset register. Once your records are entered in it, certified by a registered tax agent or a person the Commissioner approves, and kept for 5 years, you may be able to throw out the original records. Taxation Ruling TR 2002/10 sets out how.

The capital gains tax rules change for gains that accrue after 1 July 2027, under reforms the ATO says are now law: the 50% discount that individuals, trusts and partnerships get is replaced by cost base indexation together with a 30% minimum tax rate. Check the ATO’s page on the reform before relying on any capital gains figure.

iiiAt tax time

  • Pre-filling. myTax pre-fills dividend information reported to the ATO. Check it, and add any dividends from Australian companies that have not pre-filled. The ATO notes that most dividend records are available by late July.
  • Joint holdings. Shares held jointly are assumed to be owned equally, and myTax divides the amounts equally between the holders. If you own them in unequal shares, you can alter your share, keeping a record of how you worked it out.
  • Not in the dividends section. Distributions from exchange traded funds and managed investment trusts, distributions from partnerships and trusts, shares you sold, and dividends from foreign companies each go in other sections of myTax.

Costs you may be able to claim

The ATO lists deductions against dividend income, each with conditions. Among them: interest on money borrowed to buy shares, if it is reasonable to expect assessable dividends; ongoing management fees or retainers paid to investment advisers, but not a fee for drawing up an initial investment plan; specialist investment journals and share market information services; and the share of internet costs used to manage your portfolio.

Unless you are carrying on a business of share trading, brokerage and stamp duty on buying shares are not deductions. They form part of the shares’ cost base for capital gains tax. The ATO’s list gives every condition; Moneysmart suggests a registered tax agent if you need professional help.

ivChecking that what arrived is right

Moneysmart’s list for tracking shares includes checking that the number of shares you hold is correct, that buys and sells were recorded properly, and that dividends were paid to the right account or reinvested as you instructed. The company’s share registry keeps the shareholder records and can tell you about dividends and holdings.

For unclaimed money a share registry no longer holds, the ASX refers investors to ASIC’s Moneysmart website, and ASIC holds records of unclaimed money from shares and investments. Moneysmart sets out the claim, with the documents ASIC needs, and says ASIC generally takes up to 60 days to process a claim once it has the right documents.