These instructions will help you complete the Application for refund of franking credits (NAT 4131, PDF, 287KB)This link will download a file
Use this form if your not-for-profit organisation is eligible and one of the following applies:
- The organisation is paid franked dividends on, or between, 1 July and 30 June.
- The organisation is entitled to franked distributions from one or more trusts for the financial year ended 30 June.
Eligibility for a refund
Your organisation is eligible for a refund if you are:
- a charity registered by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and endorsed by us as exempt from income tax, and you meet the residency requirements
- an income tax exempt deductible gift recipient endorsed by us in your own right, and you meet the residency requirements
- an income tax exempt deductible gift recipient listed by name in the tax law, and you meet the residency requirements.
- an income tax exempt relief fund declared by the Treasurer to be a developing country relief fund
- a prescribed income tax exempt entity eligible for a refund under relevant regulations
- an exempt institution eligible for a refund under an Australian Government law other than the income tax law.
You meet the residency requirements if you have a physical presence in Australia at all times during the relevant income year. You must also incur your expenditure and pursue your objectives principally in Australia.
If the franked dividends your organisation was paid (or the franked distributions your organisation was entitled to) were for an earlier income year, you need to use a different application form. Phone us on 1300 130 248.
Note: Do not use this form if you are an individual claiming a refund of franking credits in your own capacity, or you are not an income tax exempt organisation.
If you are claiming as an individual, you will need to use the Application for refund of franking credits (NAT 4098) for individuals application form.
There is more information on the refund of franking credits for a range of organisations as well as franking credits for not-for-profit entities.
Completing and lodging your application form
Complete your application form by following the instructions below.
If you need help filling out the application form, phone us on 1300 130 248.
Name of organisation
Make sure the name of the organisation provided is your organisation's full legal name.
If your organisation's name has changed, send written advice of the change to:
Australian Taxation Office
PO Box 3373
PENRITH NSW 2740
Postal address
Provide the postal address for the service of notices.
Electronic funds transfer
Complete the electronic funds transfer (EFT) details on the application form to have your organisation's refund paid directly to its Australian financial institution account.
We need your financial institution details, even if you have provided them before.
Complete the following EFT details:
- bank state branch (BSB) number – this six-digit number identifies the financial institution (do not include spaces or hyphens)
- account number – this should not have more than nine characters (do not include spaces)
- account name – in most cases, your account name should be shown on your bank account records. It should include spaces between each word and between initials. If your account name exceeds 32 characters, provide the first 32 characters only.
If you don't complete the EFT details, your organisation will receive a refund cheque in the mail.
To ask about the progress of your refund, phone us on 13 28 61 option 3 then option 1.
Franked dividend, trust distribution and franking credit details
To complete this section, you will need:
- dividend statements for dividends paid to your organisation from 1 July to 30 June
- distribution statements from fund managers and trustees provided to your organisation for distribution entitlements for the income year ended 30 June.
At label A, provide the total of the following:
- Franked amounts from dividend statements, including dividends paid from a New Zealand (NZ) company with an attached Australian franking credit.
- Franked distribution amounts from distribution statements from a trust or managed fund.
Do not include the amount of any franking credit at label A.
In particular, if the amount of your distribution from a trust or managed fund includes the amount of any franking credit in the distribution amount, the amount to be included at label A must be reduced by the franking credit amount.
At label B, provide the total franking credits attached to the following:
- dividends, including Australian franking credits attached to dividends paid from a NZ company
- franking credits included in distribution statements from trusts and managed funds.
At label C, add the amounts at label A and label B.
At label D, provide taxable or net income.
At label E, provide tax payable.
You must be income tax exempt to be eligible to complete this form, so we have prefilled labels D and E with ‘00’. If you have any taxable net income or tax payable you are not eligible to use this form.
Do not include any NZ franking credits.
If the NZ company that paid the dividend has not specified the franking credit is Australian, you should contact the company to work out if it is an Australian or NZ franking credit. In most cases, if it is not specified as Australian, it will be a NZ franking credit.
Do not show cents at any label.
You should keep dividend and distribution statements provided to your organisation. Do not send them to us with your application form. If we need more information, we will ask you.
Privacy
We are authorised by law to collect the information on this form and disclose it to other government agencies. This includes the personal information of the person authorised to sign the declaration. For more information, refer to our Privacy policy and the Privacy notice – Application for franking credit refund.
Declaration
The declaration must be read, signed and dated (after completion of the application) by the authorised person for the organisation. Such a person might include:
- the trustee of the trust
- an office holder of the association or organisation
- a director of the company
- the company secretary
- the public officer of the company.
Incomplete declaration details may delay the processing of your organisation's application.
Before signing the declaration, make sure your organisation has the necessary records to support its application for a refund of franking credits.
How to lodge your application
Send the completed application form to us on or after 1 July, by either:
- mail to
Australian Taxation Office
PO Box 1032
ALBURY NSW 2640 - fax to 1300 730 298.
Only the original application form will be accepted.
Note: This application cannot be lodged electronically (using the practitioner lodgment service).
We will process your organisation's application form within 50 days provided it is completed correctly and sent to the above address or fax number. If you send the application to any other address, processing may be delayed.
How to change your application
If your organisation needs to change the franked dividend or franked distribution details or any franking credit details it lodged with us, write to us explaining the change and reason for the change. Do not lodge another application.
We may address your request, your letter must be signed and dated by the authorised person and include your organisation's:
- full name
- postal address
- contact phone number
- Australian business number (ABN).