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The Global Insight

How do you record the declaration of a stock dividend?

Author

John Johnson

Updated on February 24, 2026

The journal entry to record the declaration of the cash dividends involves a decrease (debit) to Retained Earnings (a stockholders’ equity account) and an increase (credit) to Cash Dividends Payable (a liability account).

What type of flow is declaration of dividend?

Dividends are a cash outflow in the financing-activities section of the statement of cash flow. Continuing with the earlier example, if the company pays the cash dividends on June 15, the accounting entries to record this payment are to debit dividends payable and credit cash by $50,000 each.

What is declaration of stock dividend?

What Is Declaring a Dividend? Companies often payout a portion of its profits as dividends to the shareholders. Dividend payouts are a way to provide shareholders with a return on their investment. The board of directors issues a declaration stating how much will be paid out and over what timeframe.

What is a special dividend payment?

A special dividend is a non-recurring distribution of company assets, usually in the form of cash, to shareholders. A special dividend is usually larger compared to normal dividends paid out by the company and often tied to a specific event like an asset sale or other windfall event.

How are dividends in kind included in a dividend?

The following are included as dividend in kind: Options to gain stock in another corporation. If the dividend paid is by a transfer of an asset of the company, the liability to the shareholder receiving the assets is lowered to the extent of the value of the asset.

How is a stock dividend treated in accounting?

A stock dividend is never treated as a liability of the issuer, since the issuance does not reduce assets. Consequently, this type of dividend cannot realistically be considered a distribution of assets to shareholders. When there is a stock dividend, the related accounting is to transfer from retained earnings to the capital stock …

What was the ownership percentage of ABC before the dividend?

Before the stock dividend, Colin owned 1% (1,000 / 100,000) of the total outstanding shares. Since a stock dividend is given to all shareholders, Colin’s ownership percentage in ABC Company remains the same. Therefore, Colin would own 1% of the new total shares outstanding or 1% x 110,000 = 1,100.

When does a company declare a stock dividend?

Stock dividends are primarily issued in lieu of cash dividends when the company is low on liquid cash on hand. The board of directors decides on when to declare a (stock) dividend and in what form the dividend will be paid. Impact of a Stock Dividend on Market Capitalization