Australia Franking Credits Calculator: Dividend Imputation Gross-Up
Work out Australian franking credits on a dividend — the imputation credit attached to a franked dividend (the company tax already paid) and the grossed-up dividend you include in your taxable income.
Adjust the inputs and select Calculate for a full breakdown.
Compare Common Scenarios
How the numbers shift across typical situations for this calculator:
| Scenario | Franking credit | Grossed-up dividend |
|---|---|---|
| $700 fully franked (30%) → $300 credit | $300.00 | $1,000.00 |
| $1,400 fully franked (30%) | $600.00 | $2,000.00 |
| $750 base-rate (25%) gross-up | $250.00 | $1,000.00 |
| $350 fully franked (30%) | $150.00 | $500.00 |
How This Calculator Works
Enter the cash dividend you received and the gross-up rate (42.857% for a fully franked dividend at the 30% company tax rate). The calculator shows the franking credit and the grossed-up dividend (cash plus credit). Under dividend imputation, you declare the grossed-up amount as income, then the franking credit is a tax offset against your tax bill — refundable if it exceeds your tax.
The Formula
Percentage Add-On
Rate is the tax or tip percentage applied to the amount
Worked Example
A $700 fully franked dividend carries a $300 franking credit, giving a grossed-up dividend of $1,000. Australia's dividend imputation system avoids double-taxing company profits: when a company pays tax (30% for most companies) and then distributes a 'franked' dividend, it attaches a franking credit for the tax already paid. You include the grossed-up dividend ($1,000 = $700 cash + $300 credit) in your income, calculate tax on it, then subtract the $300 credit — so you're only taxed on the difference between your rate and the company rate, and a low earner gets the excess refunded.
Key Insight
Franking credits are a defining and unusually generous feature of Australian investing, and the gross-up arithmetic is the key to understanding them. The logic: company profits are taxed once at the company level (commonly 30%), and dividend imputation passes that tax on to shareholders as a credit so the same profit isn't taxed twice. A fully franked dividend of $700 represents $1,000 of pre-tax company profit on which $300 of tax was already paid — so you 'gross up' the cash dividend by adding the $300 credit, declare $1,000 of income, work out your tax on it, and then use the $300 as an offset. The powerful part, distinctive to Australia, is that franking credits are refundable: if your marginal tax rate is below the company rate (or you pay no tax, like many retirees and super funds in pension phase), the unused credit is paid to you as a cash refund — which is why franked dividends are especially prized by low-rate investors, SMSFs and retirees. The gross-up rate depends on the company tax rate: 30/70 = 42.857% for the standard 30% rate, or 25/75 = 33.333% for base-rate entities taxed at 25%; and for part-franked dividends you scale by the franking percentage (a 50%-franked dividend gets half the credit). Conditions apply: the '45-day holding rule' requires you to hold the shares at risk for a set period to be entitled to the credits, and there's a small-shareholder exemption below a credit threshold. This calculator shows the franking credit and the grossed-up dividend; for your actual outcome, declare the grossed-up amount, apply your marginal rate, then subtract the credit (refundable if it exceeds your tax), and scale the rate for part-franked dividends.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are franking credits calculated?
Gross up the cash dividend by the company tax rate: credit = dividend × rate/(1−rate). For a fully franked dividend at 30%, that's dividend × 30/70 = 42.857%. A $700 franked dividend carries a $300 credit, for a $1,000 grossed-up dividend you declare as income.
What is dividend imputation?
Australia's system for avoiding double taxation of company profits. A company pays tax (commonly 30%), then attaches a franking credit to the dividend for that tax. You declare the grossed-up dividend as income and use the credit as an offset, so you're effectively taxed only on the gap between your rate and the company rate.
Are franking credits refundable?
Yes — distinctively in Australia, if your franking credits exceed your tax liability (for example if you're a low earner, a retiree, or a super fund in pension phase), the excess is refunded to you in cash. This makes fully franked dividends especially valuable to low-tax-rate investors and SMSFs.
What's the gross-up rate?
It depends on the company tax rate. For the standard 30% rate it's 30/70 = 42.857%; for base-rate entities taxed at 25% it's 25/75 = 33.333%. For a part-franked dividend, multiply the rate by the franking percentage — a 50%-franked dividend carries half the credit a fully franked one would.
Do I need to hold the shares for a minimum time?
Generally yes — the '45-day holding rule' requires you to hold the shares at risk for a set period around the dividend to be entitled to the franking credits, preventing short-term trading just to capture them. A small-shareholder exemption applies below a credit threshold. Check the rules if you trade around ex-dividend dates.
Related Calculators
Methodology & Review
The franking credit is the gross-up applied to the cash dividend (rate = company tax rate ÷ (1 − company tax rate)); the total is the grossed-up taxable dividend (cash plus credit). The default rate of 42.857% corresponds to a 30% company tax rate on a fully franked dividend. For part-franked dividends, scale the rate by the franking percentage.
Written by Ugo Candido · Last updated May 22, 2026.