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myTax 2018 Dividends

How to report dividends when you lodge your return using myTax.

Last updated 27 June 2018

This section is about dividends and distributions that were paid or credited to you by Australian companies that you had shares in. These include:

  • dividends applied under a dividend reinvestment plan
  • dividends that were dealt with on your behalf
  • bonus shares that qualify as dividends.

Dividends include:

  • distributions by a corporate limited partnership
  • dividends paid by a corporate unit trust
  • dividends paid by a public trading trust
  • dividends paid by a listed investment company.

The following may also be included as dividends:

  • earnings you received, or were credited with, on a non-share equity interest
  • amounts you received from, or were credited by, a private company as a shareholder or an associate of a shareholder in the form of payments, loans or debts forgiven (these are generally unfranked dividends)
  • amounts you received from, or were credited by, the trustee of a trust estate in the form of payments, loans or debts forgiven where a private company in which you were a shareholder, or an associate of a shareholder, had an unpaid present entitlement (or was going to have such an entitlement by a certain time) from the trust (these are generally unfranked dividends).

Do not include dividends paid under a demerger unless the company advised you to include them.

For more information, see You need to know.

Do not show at this section

If you:

  • received a distribution from a partnership or trust, show this at Partnerships or Trusts in the Business/sole trader, partnership and trust income (including loss details) section
  • carried on a business of trading in shares, show this at Business income or losses in the Business/sole trader, partnership and trust income (including loss details) section
  • sold, redeemed, cancelled or otherwise disposed of shares during the year (but did not carry on a business of trading in shares), show this at the Capital gains or losses section
  • received dividends from a foreign company. Show this at Other foreign income in the Foreign income, assets and entities section
  • received dividends from a New Zealand company with Australian franking credits attached. Show this at Other foreign income in the Foreign income, assets and entities section
  • received dividends or a distribution on which family trust distribution tax had been paid, show this at Amount on which family trust distribution tax has been paid in the Adjustments section.

If you can't see these sections, use the Personalise return screen to select those sections that apply to you. For further help with personalising your return, see How to personalise your return.

Completing this section

You will need your statements from each Australian company that paid you dividends or made distributions to you from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018 inclusive. Your dividend statements will show the amounts and should show the payment dates. For more information about your statements, see You need to know.

We have pre-filled your tax return with dividend information provided to us. Check for dividends and distributions that were paid or credited to you by Australian companies that are not pre-filled and ensure you add them.

If we have pre-filled a listed investment company capital (LIC) gains deduction, this amount will be 50% of the amount shown as a LIC capital gain on your dividend statement. For more information, see Dividend deductions.

  1. For each dividend 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 franked and unfranked portions of the dividend, enter the total dividend amount at Total franked amount.

    Joint accounts
    If you had shares in joint names, show the number of account holders and the total amount of dividends, credits and tax withheld. MyTax will divide the amounts equally between the number of account holders.
    You may alter your share of the amount of dividends, credits and tax withheld if the shares are owned in unequal proportions. If you do, keep a record of how you worked out your share.
  2. If you were not an Australian resident for tax purposes when the dividend was paid or credited to you and the dividend was:
    • not fully franked and was not declared to be conduit foreign income, and withholding tax was not withheld from the unfranked amount, include that dividend and select the Country of residence when the dividend was paid or credited.
      This amount will not be included in your taxable income. We will advise you of the amount of withholding tax you have to pay on this dividend.
    • fully franked, or was not fully franked, but either the dividend statement shows the unfranked amount to be conduit foreign income, or withholding tax was (or should have been) withheld from the unfranked amount, do not include that dividend.
  3. Select Save.
  4. Select Save and continue.

Details of your statements and what it means.

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