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If a dividend in your portfolio doesn't match what you expected to receive, there are several common reasons why. This page walks through the most likely causes.

Jump to:

• Foreign withholding tax
• Unconfirmed or estimated dividend
• Dividend reinvestment plan (DRP)
• Trust distributions
• Currency conversion
• Franking credits

Foreign withholding tax

If you hold foreign investments, the dividend amount shown in Sharesight may be the gross amount declared by the company — before the foreign government deducts withholding tax at source. This means the amount in Sharesight will be higher than what you actually received in your bank account.

For example, US dividends are typically subject to a 15–30% withholding tax deducted before you receive anything. Sharesight records the gross dividend and separately tracks the withholding tax amount.

See Foreign Withholding Tax for a full explanation of how Sharesight handles this and how to record it correctly.

Unconfirmed or estimated dividend

Sharesight automatically populates dividends for many supported securities using data from the share registry. These are shown as unconfirmed until you verify them against your actual statement.

An auto-populated dividend may look wrong if:

• The estimated amount hasn't been finalised yet (dividends are often announced weeks before the payment date)
• The dividend was applied to the wrong number of shares (e.g. if you bought or sold shares close to the ex-dividend date)
• Your broker or registry reported a slightly different amount

To fix this, click on the dividend to open the Edit a Payment form, update the amount, and click Save and confirm payout. See Confirming transactions for step-by-step instructions.

Dividend reinvestment plan (DRP)

If you are enrolled in a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP), the dividend amount can appear incorrect because of an inaccurate share quantity. When you participate in a DRP, the dividend is used to purchase additional shares rather than paid as cash — if those new shares are not recorded in Sharesight, your share count will be understated. Since dividends are calculated based on the quantity of shares held on the ex-dividend date, an incorrect quantity leads to an incorrect dividend amount.

To fix this, make sure the DRP shares are recorded as a separate buy trade, then set up the dividend as a DRP so Sharesight links the reinvestment correctly.

Trust distributions

ETFs, managed funds, and other trust investments pay distributions, not dividends. These are broken down into multiple tax components (capital gains, foreign income, cost base adjustments) rather than a single cash amount.

If you hold a trust investment, the amount shown may look different from the cash you received because some components adjust your cost base rather than contributing to your income. See Annual Tax Statement Components for more detail.

Currency conversion

If you hold investments that pay dividends in a foreign currency, Sharesight converts the dividend to your portfolio's base currency using its own exchange rate on the payment date. This rate may differ slightly from the rate your broker used when paying the dividend into your bank account — resulting in a small difference in the converted amount.

Common example: Australian investors holding VTS, Resmed, or other USD-paying securities

These securities pay dividends in USD. Your broker converts the USD amount to AUD at their own exchange rate before paying it into your bank account. Sharesight does the same conversion independently using a different rate source, which often results in a minor AUD discrepancy.

How to fix it:

1. Open the dividend in Sharesight.
2. Find the Converted amount field.
3. Enter the exact AUD amount you received from your broker.
4. Sharesight will automatically back-calculate the correct exchange rate from your actual AUD total.

This applies to investments where your broker converts the foreign dividend to your local currency before paying you. It does not apply to US stocks where dividends are paid directly into a USD cash balance — in that case, no FX conversion is needed and the amounts should match.

Franking credits

For Australian shares, Sharesight records the gross dividend including franking credits. The gross amount is higher than the cash you received because franking credits represent tax already paid by the company on your behalf — they are not paid out as cash but are used to offset your personal tax liability.

The cash amount you received is the net dividend (gross minus franking credits). Both figures are visible in the dividend details.

Sharesight does not provide taxation advice. If you are unsure about the tax treatment of a specific dividend or distribution, consult a qualified tax adviser.