Dividend Calculator
United States Uses U.S. IRS retirement-account and federal deposit rules. Figures are in U.S. dollars.
Dividend calculator: dividend income and growth, reinvesting against taking cash, the 2026 tax on qualified and ordinary dividends, and the investment needed for a monthly income.
Educational estimate only. Not a lending decision. Your numbers stay in this browser.
Results
How to read this: the verdict describes how much room your numbers leave, not a decision or an offer. Change any input to see how much the result moves.
Investing and retirement guides
These guides explain compounding, contribution projections, retirement targets, inflation, and real returns.
- Compound interest explained
- Investment return with contributions
- Retirement savings target
- Inflation and real returns
For all guide topics, open Guides. For source and estimate boundaries, read Calculation Methodology and Sources and Assumptions.
Assumptions and formula
Each year the portfolio pays shares × dividend per share. The dividend per share grows at the dividend growth rate and the share price at the price growth rate. Reinvested dividends, after tax, and yearly contributions buy shares at the year-end price; if you take the cash, the share count only grows from contributions.
Tax is worked for each year’s dividends on top of your other taxable income: qualified dividends at 0%, 15% or 20% depending on where they fall against the 2026 thresholds (Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 0% to $49,450 single, $98,900 joint, $66,200 head of household; 15% to $545,500, $613,700, $579,600), ordinary dividends at the income-tax brackets, and the 3.8% net investment income tax above $200,000 ($250,000 joint). The investment needed for an income divides the yearly income by the yield, and after tax grosses it up until the after-tax dividends meet it.
Worked example
$100,000 at a 4% yield pays $4,000 in year 1. With 5% dividend growth, 4% price growth and reinvestment, a single filer with $75,000 of taxable income pays 15% on it, and after 20 years the portfolio is worth about $443,000 and pays about $19,700 a year (a 20% yield on cost). Taking the cash instead leaves $219,000 invested and $112,000 received. $2,000 a month needs $600,000 at 4%, or about $706,000 after tax.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need to invest to make $1,000 a month in dividends?
$300,000 at a 4% yield before tax, or about $353,000 if qualified dividends are taxed at 15%.
How much will my dividends pay?
Investment × dividend yield: $100,000 at a 4% yield pays $4,000 a year. If the dividend grows 5% a year and you reinvest, the yearly income reaches about $19,700 after 20 years, and the portfolio about $443,000 at 4% price growth.
How much do I need to invest to earn $2,000 a month in dividends?
$600,000 at a 4% yield, before tax. With qualified dividends taxed at 15%, about $706,000 to have $2,000 a month after federal tax. At a 3% yield, $800,000 before tax.
How are dividends taxed in 2026?
Qualified dividends (most U.S. and many foreign shares held over 60 days around the dividend date) are taxed at 0% up to $49,450 of taxable income for single filers ($98,900 joint), 15% up to $545,500 ($613,700 joint) and 20% above. Ordinary dividends, such as most REIT and money-market dividends, are taxed at your income-tax rate. High earners pay 3.8% more.
Should I reinvest dividends?
Reinvesting buys more shares that pay more dividends, so wealth compounds faster: $100,000 at 4% for 20 years ends at about $443,000 reinvested, against $219,000 plus $112,000 of cash taken out. Taking the cash suits you once you need the income.
What is yield on cost?
This year’s dividends divided by what you paid in. A 4% yield growing 5% a year with reinvestment reaches a 20% yield on cost after 20 years.
Is this a dividend income calculator or a DRIP calculator?
Both: a dividend calculator and dividend income calculator, a DRIP and dividend reinvestment calculator, and a dividend yield calculator with the 2026 dividend tax.
What is the dividend yield formula?
Dividend yield = annual dividends per share ÷ share price. A $100 stock paying $3 a year yields 3%. This stock dividend calculator also works as a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) calculator, and it separates qualified from non-qualified dividends for tax.
Sources
Sources reviewed 4 October 2026: checked against their current editions on that date.
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.03: 2026 maximum zero-rate and 15%-rate amounts for qualified dividends and capital gains.
- 26 USC 1411: net investment income tax of 3.8% above $200,000 ($250,000 joint, $125,000 separate).
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32: 2026 income-tax brackets for ordinary dividends.
This page is an educational estimate, not personal financial or tax advice. Eligibility and individual circumstances can change the result.