Record Date vs Ex-Dividend Date Under T+1 Settlement

In India the ex-dividend date and the record date now fall on the same day, because shares settle on a T+1 basis. To get a dividend, you must buy the shares at least one trading day before that date. Shares bought on the ex-date or later do not qualify, but shares you sell on the ex-date still do.

Key facts

Record date, ex-date and payment date

Four dates matter for any dividend, bonus or split:

For futures and options, NSE adjusts strike prices on the ex-dividend date only for extraordinary dividends, those above 2% of the share’s market value. Ordinary dividends leave contracts unchanged.

How T+1 changed the timing

A share you buy today reaches your demat account on the next settlement day. That is what T+1 means: trade day plus one working day. SEBI allowed exchanges to move to T+1 in phases from its September 2021 circular, and all listed shares now settle this way.

Under the older T+2 cycle, shares took two days to arrive, so the ex-date was set one trading day before the record date. With T+1, a purchase made on the day before the record date lands in your account on the record date itself. A purchase made on the record date lands a day too late. So the day the share goes ex-benefit and the record date are now the same day, as broker Zerodha’s help page explains.

SEBI also runs an optional T+0 (same-day) settlement cycle for a limited set of shares. Ordinary delivery trades settle on T+1, which is what the rules on this page assume. If you trade in the T+0 segment, ask your broker how it treats a record date.

Buying and selling around the ex-date

Take a company that fixes Wednesday as its record date for a ₹10 dividend, with no market holiday that week.

If a holiday falls in between, count trading days, not calendar days. For a Monday record date, the last day to buy is the previous trading day, usually Friday.

Why buying just before the ex-date is rarely free money

The share price normally drops by roughly the dividend on the ex-date. You pay tax on the dividend at your slab rate, and TDS may apply. If you then sell at the lower price within a year, the gain or loss is short-term. Brokerage, STT and other charges eat into what is left. Buying only for the dividend therefore often ends up close to break-even or worse.

Where companies announce these dates

Regulation 42 of the SEBI Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations, 2015 requires a listed company to intimate the record date to the stock exchanges. According to exchange FAQs issued in 2026:

• The exchanges recognise only the record date. A company’s “book closure” or “cut-off” date is not taken on record.
• The record date must be at least three working days after the board or shareholder approval for the corporate action.
• For schemes of arrangement and capital reduction, the notice must be at least seven working days, excluding the intimation date and the record date.
• A company can revise or cancel a record date only at least two working days before the date it announced earlier.

How to check the dates for a share

1. Open the Corporate Actions page on the NSE website (Companies Listing > Corporate Filings > Corporate Actions), or the equivalent page on BSE.
2. Search by the company’s symbol or name.
3. Read the Purpose column for the dividend amount per share, then the Ex-Date and Record Date columns.
4. Open the company’s announcement for the board resolution and any AGM date.
5. Check your broker’s corporate actions page, which usually shows the same data for stocks you hold.

Our page on dividend stocks covers yields and payout history. For REIT distributions, which follow similar record-date rules, see our listed REITs tracker.

How the dividend reaches your bank

Once the record date passes, the company gets the list of eligible holders from NSDL and CDSL. Its registrar then pays the dividend to the bank account linked to your demat account.

Section 127 of the Companies Act, 2013 makes it an offence to fail to pay a declared dividend within 30 days of declaration. For a final dividend, the clock runs from the AGM; for an interim dividend, from the board’s declaration. If the money does not arrive, check that your bank details in the demat account are correct, then contact the company’s registrar.

TDS on dividends

From tax year 2026-27, TDS on dividends falls under Section 393 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, replacing Section 194 of the 1961 Act. The company deducts 10% if the dividends it pays you in the year exceed ₹10,000, according to TaxGarden’s summary of the new rate table. The dividend is taxed at your slab rate, and TDS appears in your Form 26AS. Our TDS rates chart lists the other thresholds.

Frequently asked questions

Are the ex-dividend date and record date the same in India?

Yes. Since all shares moved to T+1 settlement, the ex-date and the record date fall on the same day.

When should I buy a share to get the dividend?

At least one trading day before the record date. A purchase on the record date settles the next day, too late to count.

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

Yes. The shares leave your demat account only on the next working day, so you are still the holder on the record date.

Why does the share price fall on the ex-dividend date?

New buyers no longer receive the dividend, so the price usually adjusts down by about the dividend amount.

How long after the record date is the dividend paid?

The Companies Act requires payment within 30 days of declaration. Many companies pay sooner, but the exact date is in the company’s announcement.

What is book closure?

An older method in which the register of members was closed for a period. Exchanges now take only the record date for corporate actions.

Do bonus issues and splits follow the same rule?

Yes. Eligibility for any corporate action depends on holding the shares on the record date, and the ex-date is the same day.

Sources

• Introduction of T+1 rolling settlement on an optional basis (7 Sep 2021) — SEBI (checked 17 Sep 2026)
• Circular on T+0 settlement cycle timeline (30 Oct 2025) — SEBI (checked 17 Sep 2026)
• FAQs on LODR Regulations (April 2025) — SEBI (checked 17 Sep 2026)
• FAQs on filing of corporate actions under SEBI LODR (4 Sep 2026) — Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (checked 17 Sep 2026)
• Corporate Filings: Corporate Actions — NSE (checked 17 Sep 2026)
• Adjustments in case of corporate actions (derivatives) — NSE (checked 17 Sep 2026)
• Companies Act, 2013, Section 127 — Income Tax Department (checked 17 Sep 2026)
• What is record date and ex-date for dividends — Zerodha Support (checked 17 Sep 2026)
• Selling a stock on the ex-date — Zerodha Support (checked 17 Sep 2026)
• TDS on dividends under Section 194 / 393 — TaxGarden (checked 17 Sep 2026)