A payment or other benefit provided by a private company to a shareholder or their associate can be treated as a dividend for income tax purposes under Division 7A even if the participants treat it as some other form of transaction such as a loan, advance, gift or writing off a debt.
Division 7A can also apply when a private company provides a payment or benefit to a shareholder or associate through another entity, or if a trust has allocated income to a private company but has not actually paid it, and the trust has provided a payment or benefit to the company's shareholder or their associate.
Division 7A is part of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and is intended to prevent profits or assets being provided to shareholders or their associates tax free.
A Division 7A deemed dividend is generally unfranked. Given this, the most effective way to provide a payment or other benefit to a shareholder or their associate is to pay it as a normal dividend (with a franking credit if available) and for the shareholder to include it in their assessable income.
Division 7A doesn't apply to amounts that are assessable to the shareholder or their associate under other parts of the income tax law, such as normal dividends or director's fees.
A payment or benefit that is potentially subject to Division 7A isn't treated as a dividend if it's repaid or converted into a Division 7A complying loan by the company's lodgment day for the income year in which the payment or benefit occurs.
See also
Explains what a dividend for income tax purposes under Division 7A is and the effect and tax treatment.