I exported my account activity to a CSV file but I am seeing discrepancies in some dividend amounts. Specifically, the dividend given is sometimes off by one penny.
Hereās an example:
Title: Nvidia
Type: DIVIDEND
Timestamp: 2023-03-29T18:15:00.000Z
Account Currency: GBP
Total Amount: 0.27
Buy / Sell:
Ticker: NVDA
ISIN: US67066G1040
Price per Share in Account Currency:
Stamp Duty:
Quantity: 10.23059482
Venue:
Order ID:
Order Type:
Instrument Currency: USD
Total Shares Amount:
Price per Share:
FX Rate:
Base FX Rate: 0.80973758
FX Fee (BPS): 0
FX Fee Amount: 0.00
Dividend Ex Date: 2023-03-07
Dividend Pay Date: 2023-03-29
Dividend Eligible Quantity: 10.23059482
Dividend Amount Per Share: 0.04000000
Dividend Gross Distribution Amount: 0.41
Dividend Net Distribution Amount: 0.34
Dividend Withheld Tax Percentage: 15
Dividend Withheld Tax Amount: 0.06
The āTotal Amountā here is Ā£0.27 and I can confirm that was the amount that was deposited on my account. However, if I calculate this amount manually based on the gross dividend per share, tax withheld and exchange rate:
The calculated total amount is Ā£0.281659301 and thereās no rounding method that could be followed to justify a Ā£0.27 dividend as opposed to Ā£0.28. Can someone clarify why this is happening?
Usually I wouldnāt quibble for one penny discrepancy but I am writing software to analyse exports from Freetrade and Iād like this to be accurate to the penny. Accuracy to the penny would also give me piece of mind when filling the dividends for foreign companies in the Self Assessment.
On another note, it seems that other dividend amounts are being rounded towards zero, which is a biased approach.
Thanks for the question. When we receive dividends in a foreign currency we first calculate the amount received in the local currency net of any taxes withheld. That figure is rounded down (so in this case, $0.3478402239 USD rounded down to $0.34).
We then convert that amount against the FX rate shown there which rounds down again to 27p (FX to distribute in GBP, =$0.34 * 0.80973758 (FX rate) = Ā£0.2753107772 per share, which will be rounded down again to Ā£0.27)
Personally I enjoy threads like this. Look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves. Plus itās good to have an explanation for apparent little mysteries like this.
Thanks a lot @acamp for your reply. What you wrote makes sense. However, if I follow the same reasoning for the transaction below:
amount received in the local currency net of any taxes withheld = $3.9810567, which is rounded down to $3.98.
amount received in GBP = $3.98 * 0.79645101 (FX rate) = Ā£3.16987502, which would be rounded down to Ā£3.16.
In this case I should have received Ā£3.16 of dividends but I received Ā£3.17 instead (not complaining!). Do you have an explanation for this?
Title: Skyworks
Type: DIVIDEND
Timestamp: 2023-12-12T06:43:00.000Z
Account Currency: GBP
Total Amount: 3.17
Buy / Sell:
Ticker: SWKS
ISIN: US83088M1027
Price per Share in Account Currency:
Stamp Duty:
Quantity: 6.88764135
Venue:
Order ID:
Order Type:
Instrument Currency: USD
Total Shares Amount:
Price per Share:
FX Rate:
Base FX Rate: 0.79645101
FX Fee (BPS): 0
FX Fee Amount: 0.00
Dividend Ex Date: 2023-11-20
Dividend Pay Date: 2023-12-12
Dividend Eligible Quantity: 6.88764135
Dividend Amount Per Share: 0.68000000
Dividend Gross Distribution Amount: 4.68
Dividend Net Distribution Amount: 3.98
Dividend Withheld Tax Percentage: 15
Dividend Withheld Tax Amount: 0.70
It looks as though since this was Ā£3.1698ā¦ net we rounded up rather than down. Iāll double check if thereās a rule we use there beyond normal rounding rules, but thatās my guess!