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Aus-taxpayer(Newbie)Newbie
4 Apr 2025

I am trying to work out the GST cost base for some Telstra (TLS) and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) shares for an elderly relative who has not kept records of the original purchase price or the price of some reinvested dividends. I have looked up the single holding option in MUFG Corporate Markets (previously Link Market Services).

For the CBA shares, first floated on ASX 12/09/91, I can get history of reinvested dividends and balance back to 28/03/2002 only, and does not include previous reinvested dividends or the original purchase transaction.

For the TLS shares, first floated 17/11/97, there no transaction history available at all

Is there some place where the earlier records that go back to the original IPOs for CBA and TLS can be found? Or is their some method a tax account would use to estimate the cost base?

Your suggestions/advice would be appreciated. Cheers


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1,119 views
1 replies

All replies

knaresbro(Devotee)Devotee
5 Apr 2025

You'll need to know in which tranche the Telstra shares were purchased, @Aus-taxpayer , e.g. T1 shares were at a cost of $3.30 with an effective date (as they were purchased with two payments) of 3 Nov 97, T2 was similarly $7.40 on 15 Oct 99 and finally T3 for $3.60.


It's further complicated by any bonus shares provided at no cost plus any other special shares such as those issued to Telstra staff. Telstra's own web pages provide all the dividend amounts from the first of seven cents in March '98. Your "forensic analysis" should probably start with the most-recent balance and work backwards through each DRP parcel until you determine the number of shares received initially in one or more of T1, T2 and T3. Good luck!

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Calculate CGT cost base for CBA and TLS shares | ATO Community