Shares and dividends
You and your shares 2024 (NAT 2632) will help you, as an individual who holds shares or bonds as an investment, find out the following:
- how dividends received by Australian resident and non-resident individuals are taxed
- the type of expenses you may be able to claim against dividend income.
If you acquired shares after 19 September 1985, capital gains tax (CGT) may apply when you dispose of them. See, Personal investors guide to capital gains tax 2024.
This guide will also help people who carry on a business of trading in shares. However, it does not deal with the specific taxation of shares held as trading stock or with the profits or losses arising from the disposal of such shares. If you need further advice on these aspects of owning shares, contact us or a recognised tax adviser.
What 's new for individual investors
Find out what's new or any changes in legislation for individual investors.
- Off-market share buy-backs and selective share cancellations
- Franked distributions funded by capital raising
Off-market share buy-backs and selective share cancellations
If you participated in an off-market share buy-back which was announced and undertaken by a public listed company after 7:30pm AEDT on 25 October 2022, see Off-market share buy-backs.
If you participated in a selective share cancellation undertaken by a listed public company on or after 18 November 2022, there may continue to be a dividend amount and, if there is, it is an unfrankable dividend.
Franked distributions funded by capital raising
Under recent changes, dividends made on or after 28 November 2023 (that broadly are outside of the paying entity's usual pattern of distributions and are funded by an associated capital raising) will be considered unfrankable from the paying entity's perspective. This means you don't include any franking credits in your assessable income or claim a franking credit tax offset. For more information, see Franked distributions funded by capital raisings.
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