When and Who Is Eligible to Receive Dividends? A Complete Guide to the Ex-Dividend Date and Record Date

A dividend is money or property distributed to shareholders as a portion of a company’s profits. The most important criterion for investing in dividend stocks is not the holding period, but whether you are “confirmed as a shareholder on the dividend record date.”

Key Answer

• Who receives dividends: Anyone who is confirmed as a shareholder on the record date.
• Deadline for Purchasing Domestically Listed Stocks: Generally, a purchase must be settled at least two business days before the record date. This is because domestically listed stocks follow a T+2 settlement structure, meaning settlement occurs two trading days after the trade date.
• Ex-dividend date: This is the date after which any shares purchased will not carry the right to receive the dividend. It is usually easiest to understand this as the business day following the “last day to buy.”
• Dividend payment date: Dividends are deposited into your securities account on the scheduled payment date announced by the company following the resolution or approval of the dividend.

What Are Dividends?

Dividends are a distribution of a company’s profits to its shareholders. A company is not required to pay dividends simply because it has made a profit; the decision is based on a comprehensive consideration of distributable profits, the articles of incorporation, resolutions by the board of directors or the shareholders’ meeting, and the company’s investment plans and financial condition.

Under the Commercial Act, dividend distributions are generally based on the number of shares held by shareholders. Therefore, for common stock of the same class, the more shares you hold, the larger your dividend will be proportionally.

Major Types of Dividends

When Should You Buy Stocks to Receive Dividends?

The right to receive dividends is determined on the dividend record date. The dividend record date is the day the company determines which shareholders are eligible to receive the current dividend.

However, the date you place an order for shares and the date the transaction is actually settled and you are registered as a shareholder are different. For domestic exchange-traded stocks, settlement is generally on a T+2 basis. In other words, if you execute a purchase on Monday, settlement occurs on Wednesday, assuming there are no public holidays.

Calculation Method for Domestically Listed Stocks

For example, if the ex-dividend date is Friday and there are no market holidays in between, you must complete a purchase by Wednesday to be settled by Friday and qualify as a shareholder of record. Since Thursday is the ex-dividend date, investors who purchase shares on Thursday are generally not eligible for this dividend.

Conversely, if you purchase shares by Wednesday and secure dividend rights, you will generally retain those rights even if you sell after Thursday, the ex-dividend date. However, for special circumstances such as market holidays, settlement exceptions, or securities lending and rights processing, you should check with your brokerage firm and official announcements.

How Much Will You Receive in Dividends?

The basic calculation formula is simple.

Pre-tax dividend = Dividend per share × Number of shares held as of the record date

For example, if a company pays a cash dividend of 1,000 won per share and an investor holds 100 shares as of the record date, the pre-tax dividend is 100,000 won.

Cash dividends from general domestic taxable accounts are taxed as dividend income. For domestic residents, 14% income tax and 1.4% local income tax are typically withheld at source, resulting in a total deduction of 15.4% before the funds are deposited. However, the after-tax amount may vary depending on whether the account is an ISA, a pension account, held by a non-resident, a corporation, or involves foreign stocks, as well as whether a tax treaty applies.

When Will the Dividends Be Deposited?

The dividend payment date varies by company. Year-end dividends are typically paid after the financial statements are approved and a dividend resolution is passed, while interim or quarterly dividends are paid according to the company’s schedule following a board resolution.

The Commercial Act generally stipulates that dividends must be paid within one month of the dividend resolution date; however, the general meeting of shareholders or the board of directors may set a different payment date. Therefore, investors must always check the company’s public disclosures for the actual payment date.

Cash dividends for listed stocks held in a securities account are generally automatically deposited into the account without requiring a separate request. The deposit description may vary by brokerage firm and is often shown as the amount after taxes have been withheld at source.

Where can I check the dividend record date and ex-dividend date?

Do not guess the dividend schedule; always verify it through official announcements. In particular, since 2023, there has been a trend in the domestic market to improve procedures so that investors can first confirm the dividend amount before the ex-dividend date. However, since not all companies operate in the same way, each company’s articles of incorporation and official announcements serve as the final reference.

Why Do Stock Prices Move on the Ex-Dividend Date?

On the ex-dividend date, shares are theoretically traded without the right to receive dividends. Therefore, the stock price may drop by the amount of the dividend. However, the actual stock price is not determined by the dividend alone. Earnings outlook, market supply and demand, interest rates, exchange rates, sector sentiment, and investor psychology all play a role.

Consequently, a strategy of buying immediately before the ex-dividend date solely to receive the dividend can be risky. If the stock price drops more than the dividend amount, your total return may suffer.

Key Metrics for Dividend Investors

Common Misconceptions

Can I receive a dividend even if I hold the stock for just one day?

It is possible. The key factor is whether you are a shareholder as of the dividend record date, not the entire holding period. However, for domestically listed stocks, you must purchase the shares before the record date, taking into account the T+2 settlement cycle.

Can I receive a dividend if I buy on the dividend record date?

Generally, you cannot receive a dividend for domestically listed stocks. This is because if you buy on the record date itself, settlement will be delayed until after the record date.

If I sell on the ex-dividend date, do I lose the dividend?

If you purchased the stock before the ex-dividend date and met the conditions to be a shareholder on the record date, you generally retain your right to the dividend even if you sell after the ex-dividend date.

Are stocks with high dividends always a good investment?

Not necessarily. A high dividend yield may appear high due to a decline in the stock price, or it could be a one-time special dividend. You need to consider the sustainability of dividends, earnings growth, cash flow, and debt burden together.

Summary

The key requirement for receiving dividends is “being confirmed as a shareholder on the dividend record date.” Due to the T+2 settlement structure for domestically listed stocks, you generally need to purchase shares at least two business days before the dividend record date; if you buy on the ex-dividend date, you typically won’t be eligible for that dividend.

Investing in dividend stocks is not just about the dividends themselves. To more accurately assess the actual rate of return, you must also consider the ex-dividend date, the record date, the payment date, taxes, the dividend payout ratio, and the company’s cash flow.