Dividend calculator

Enter what you have invested and the dividend yield. You get your income per year and per month, and what reinvesting the dividends could add over time.

Start from
The 4% yield is an example, not a forecast. Use the yield of what you hold.
Reinvest the dividends (DRIP)?
Optional. The 3% figures are assumptions for illustration. Enter 0 to leave growth out, or a minus number to test a fall.
Optional. Added at the end of every month.
Dividend income estimateOver 20 years
Dividend income a month, today
$33.33

At a 4% yield that is $400 a year. With dividends reinvested, year 20 pays about $125 a month.

Year 1Year 20
money you put ingrowth and reinvested dividends
Dividend income a year, today
$400
Dividend income in year 20
$1,496
A month in year 20
$125
Total you put in
$10,000
Total dividends received
$16,834
Portfolio value after 20 years
$39,461
Same plan, dividends taken as cash
$28,809
Difference reinvesting makes
$10,652

Before tax. In a taxable account, dividends are taxed in the year they are paid, even when you reinvest them.

An illustration, not a forecast. The yield and growth rates are assumptions. Companies can cut or stop dividends and share prices can fall, so you can end up with less than you put in.

CheckMySum. Printed . This is an estimate, not tax, legal or financial advice.

Year-by-year table for these inputs
Dividends reinvested. Before tax. Values at the end of each year.
YearDividends in the yearA monthShares heldValue of sharesPaid in so far
1$406$34103.99$10,710$10,000
2$435$36108.13$11,471$10,000
3$466$39112.44$12,286$10,000
4$499$42116.92$13,159$10,000
5$534$45121.58$14,094$10,000
6$572$48126.42$15,096$10,000
7$613$51131.46$16,168$10,000
8$656$55136.70$17,317$10,000
9$703$59142.15$18,547$10,000
10$753$63147.81$19,865$10,000
11$806$67153.70$21,276$10,000
12$864$72159.83$22,788$10,000
13$925$77166.20$24,407$10,000
14$991$83172.82$26,141$10,000
15$1,061$88179.71$27,998$10,000
16$1,137$95186.87$29,987$10,000
17$1,217$101194.32$32,118$10,000
18$1,304$109202.06$34,399$10,000
19$1,397$116210.11$36,843$10,000
20$1,496$125218.49$39,461$10,000

Share counts assume a starting price of $100 a share. The dollar figures are the same at any price.

Short answer: dividend income for a year is the amount invested times the dividend yield. $10,000 at a 4% yield pays about $400 a year, or $33.33 a month. Reinvesting buys more shares, so the income grows each year even if the company never raises its dividend. Dividends are not guaranteed.

How dividend income is calculated

A dividend is a part of a company's profit paid to its shareholders. The income figure at the top uses two formulas.

Dividend yield = yearly dividend per share ÷ share price
Yearly dividend income = amount invested × dividend yield

Divide the yearly income by 12 for the monthly figure. It is an average: a stock that pays quarterly sends four larger payments, not twelve small ones.

For the figures over time, the calculator goes month by month:

  1. The share price moves. It grows at the yearly rate you enter, spread evenly over the months.
  2. The dividend is paid. In each payout month, every share pays the yearly dividend divided by the number of payouts. The dividend per share steps up once a year by your dividend growth rate.
  3. The dividend is reinvested or kept. With reinvesting on, the payment buys more shares at that month's price. With it off, the cash is set aside and earns nothing.
  4. Extra money goes in. Any monthly investment buys shares at the end of the month.

The growth rates are assumptions you choose. The 3% defaults are there for illustration and are not a prediction. Set both to 0 to see the effect of reinvesting on its own.

Worked examples

All figures are before tax and use made-up holdings, not real stocks.

$10,000 at a 4% yield, reinvested for 20 years

Paid quarterly, with no dividend growth and no change in the share price. All of the growth comes from dividends buying more shares.

  • Amount invested at the start$10,000
  • Dividend yield today4%
  • Dividend income a year, today$400
  • Dividend income a month, today$33.33
  • Dividend income in year 20$865
  • Total paid in$10,000
  • Total dividends over 20 years$12,167
  • Difference reinvesting makes$4,167
  • Portfolio value after 20 years$22,167

250 shares at $60 paying $2.40 a share, cash taken

Paid quarterly for 10 years. The dividend grows 5% a year and the share price 3% a year. The dividends are spent, not reinvested.

  • Amount invested at the start$15,000
  • Dividend yield today4%
  • Dividend income a year, today$600
  • Dividend income a month, today$50.00
  • Dividend income in year 10$931
  • Total paid in$15,000
  • Total dividends over 10 years$7,547
  • Difference reinvesting makes$3,177
  • Shares plus cash dividends after 10 years$27,705

$5,000 to start, then $300 a month for 25 years

A 3% yield paid monthly and reinvested, with the dividend and the share price both growing 4% a year.

  • Amount invested at the start$5,000
  • Dividend yield today3%
  • Dividend income a year, today$150
  • Dividend income a month, today$12.50
  • Dividend income in year 25$7,497
  • Total paid in$95,000
  • Total dividends over 25 years$73,280
  • Difference reinvesting makes$46,794
  • Portfolio value after 25 years$266,007

Monthly dividend income by amount and yield

Find your amount on the left and your yield along the top. This is income today, before tax.

Average monthly dividend income: amount invested × yield ÷ 12.
Amount invested2% yield3% yield4% yield5% yield6% yield
$5,000$8$13$17$21$25
$10,000$17$25$33$42$50
$25,000$42$63$83$104$125
$50,000$83$125$167$208$250
$100,000$167$250$333$417$500
$250,000$417$625$833$1,042$1,250
$500,000$833$1,250$1,667$2,083$2,500
$1,000,000$1,667$2,500$3,333$4,167$5,000

What reinvesting adds over time

The gap starts small and widens, because each reinvested dividend earns dividends of its own. This table uses $10,000 at a 4% yield, paid quarterly, with no growth in the dividend or the price.

Cash taken means shares plus the dividends received as cash. Before tax.
Held forTotal, cash takenTotal, reinvestedDifferenceMonthly income at the end, cash takenMonthly income at the end, reinvested
5 years$12,000$12,202$202$33.33$39.68
10 years$14,000$14,889$889$33.33$48.41
20 years$18,000$22,167$4,167$33.33$72.08
30 years$22,000$33,004$11,004$33.33$107.32

Dividend terms in plain English

  • Dividend yield. The yearly dividend as a percent of the share price. It moves every day, because the price moves. A falling price pushes the yield up without anyone being paid more.
  • Payout ratio. The share of a company's profit that it pays out as dividends. A company that earns $5 a share and pays $2 has a payout ratio of 40%. A ratio near 100% leaves little profit to cover the dividend in a weaker year.
  • Ex-dividend date. The cut-off for the next payment. Buy on or after this date and the seller gets the dividend. The SEC notes that with a significant dividend, the share price may fall by about that amount on the ex-dividend date, so buying the day before is not free money.
  • DRIP. A dividend reinvestment plan uses your dividends to buy more shares. The calculator assumes every cent is reinvested, including part of a share, with no fee. Check whether your plan or broker works that way.

Qualified and ordinary dividends

The calculator shows income before tax. In a taxable account, the IRS splits dividends into two kinds, and your Form 1099-DIV shows how much of each you received.

  • Ordinary dividends that are not qualified are taxed at your normal income tax rate, from 10% to 37% in 2026.
  • Qualified dividends are taxed at the lower long-term capital gain rates of 0%, 15% or 20%. For common stock, you must have held the shares for more than 60 days during the 121-day period that begins 60 days before the ex-dividend date. Some preferred stock has a longer test, and some payments never qualify, whatever the holding period.
Qualified dividend rates by taxable income, tax year 2026. Taxable income is income after deductions. Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
RateSingleMarried filing jointlyHead of household
0%Up to $49,450Up to $98,900Up to $66,200
15%Over $49,450 to $545,500Over $98,900 to $613,700Over $66,200 to $579,600
20%Over $545,500Over $613,700Over $579,600

Married couples filing separately use $49,450 and $306,850. People whose modified adjusted gross income is above $200,000 ($250,000 on a joint return) may also owe the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax on dividends. Reinvesting does not delay any of this: a reinvested dividend is taxed in the year it is paid.

What the result leaves out

  • Tax. Federal and state tax on dividends, and tax on any gain when you sell.
  • Real price swings. Prices do not rise in a smooth line. They can fall hard and stay down for years.
  • Dividend cuts. A company can reduce or stop its dividend at any time. Enter a minus growth rate to test that.
  • Fees. Trading costs, plan fees and fund expenses all reduce what you keep.
  • Inflation. A dollar of income in 20 years will buy less than a dollar today.

Common mistakes

  • Treating the yield as fixed. It changes with the share price and with every dividend decision.
  • Counting yield as your total return. A 5% yield does not help if the share price falls 15%.
  • Entering one quarterly payment as the yearly dividend. Add up a full year of payments per share first.
  • Forgetting the tax on reinvested dividends. You owe it even though no cash reached your bank account.
  • Buying on the ex-dividend date to collect the payment. You are too late for that dividend.

Questions people ask

How do I calculate dividend income?

Multiply the amount invested by the dividend yield. $10,000 at a 4% yield pays about $400 a year, or about $33.33 a month. If you know the dividend per share, multiply it by the number of shares you hold.

How much do I need to invest to make $1,000 a month in dividends?

It depends on the yield. $400,000 at a 3% yield pays about $1,000 a month, $300,000 at 4% pays about $1,000, and $240,000 at 5% pays about $1,000. These figures are before tax.

What is a DRIP?

DRIP stands for dividend reinvestment plan. Your dividends buy more shares of the same stock or fund, so you do not receive the cash. Companies and brokers may offer one, and some charge a fee.

Are reinvested dividends taxed?

Yes, in a taxable account. The IRS says you must report reinvested dividends as income along with your other dividends, even though you never received the cash.

What is the tax rate on qualified dividends in 2026?

0%, 15% or 20%, depending on your taxable income. For a single filer in 2026, the 0% rate applies up to $49,450 of taxable income and the 20% rate starts above $545,500. Joint filers get 0% up to $98,900.

What is the ex-dividend date?

It is the cut-off for the next payment. If you buy a stock on its ex-dividend date or later, the seller gets that dividend, not you.

Is a higher dividend yield always better?

No. Yield is the dividend divided by the share price, so it rises when the price falls. A very high yield can mean the price has dropped, and the yield says nothing about whether the dividend will be kept.

Are dividends guaranteed?

No. A company decides each dividend and can cut it or stop it. The share price can also fall, so you can lose money on a stock that pays a dividend.

Sources

Figures last checked against these sources on October 10, 2026. This page gives general information and estimates, not tax, legal or financial advice.