What is a refund of franking credits?
What are franking credits?
When you own shares or non-share equity interests in a company or when you invest in a managed fund, you might receive dividend distributions.
Dividends paid to you by Australian companies and some New Zealand companies are taxed under a system known as imputation. The tax paid by the company is allocated (or imputed) to you as franking credits attached to the dividends you receive.
When are franking credits refunded to you?
If the franking credits you receive exceed the tax you have to pay, you can claim this difference back as a tax refund. We call this a refund of excess franking credits.
You may be entitled to a refund of the full amount of franking credits received, even if you don't normally lodge a tax return.
Who can use this form?
As long as you meet the eligibility criteria, you can use this online form to claim a refund of your franking credits.
If you do not meet the eligibility criteria, you will need to lodge a tax return to claim a refund of your franking credits.
For more information on who can use this form and how to use it, see Frequently asked questions.
Completing this form
- You will need your statements from each Australian company that paid you dividends or made distributions to you between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017 inclusive.
Do not include dividends or a distribution on which family trust distribution tax has been paid. - We have pre-filled your form with dividend information that has been provided to us by share registries and other third party providers. To view this information, select Add/Edit.
Select the blue arrow to display each dividend record. - For each dividend record that has not been pre-filled in your tax return:
- select Add and enter information into the corresponding fields (If your statement does not show a breakdown of the franked and unfranked portions of the dividend, enter the total dividend amount at Total franked amount.)
- select Save.
- Select Save and continue to return to the 'Prepare' screen.
- If you had a spouse at any time from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017:
- complete the 'Spouse details' by selecting Add/Edit (If you had a spouse in 2015–16, this information may have been pre-filled for you.)
- select Save.
- Select Save and continue to return to the 'Prepare' screen.
- Select the relevant button to indicate how you completed the form.
- Select Calculate. The estimate amount displayed is the total of your franking credits and any TFN amounts withheld.