Dividend calculator
Project what dividend reinvestment (DRIP) does to a portfolio: future value, total dividends, and monthly income — with taxes, contributions, and the real payment schedule modeled month by month.
Yield & growth assumptions
Value after 10 years
$42,597
Without DRIP: $39,984
Total contributed
$22,000
Dividends received
$6,662
Monthly income, year 10
$90
Year 1: $27/mo
Reinvesting dividends adds $2,613 (6.5%) over taking them as cash in this projection.
With DRIPWithout DRIPContributions
Year-by-year breakdown
| Year | Portfolio value | Dividends | Monthly income | Cumulative dividends | Yield on cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,165 | $325 | $27 | $325 | 2.9% |
| 2 | $14,523 | $387 | $32 | $713 | 3.1% |
| 3 | $17,091 | $454 | $38 | $1,167 | 3.3% |
| 4 | $19,886 | $525 | $44 | $1,692 | 3.5% |
| 5 | $22,927 | $602 | $50 | $2,294 | 3.8% |
| 6 | $26,234 | $684 | $57 | $2,978 | 4.0% |
| 7 | $29,830 | $772 | $64 | $3,750 | 4.2% |
| 8 | $33,738 | $867 | $72 | $4,617 | 4.4% |
| 9 | $37,984 | $968 | $81 | $5,585 | 4.7% |
| 10 | $42,597 | $1,077 | $90 | $6,662 | 4.9% |
Educational purposes only. This calculator is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Projections are hypothetical illustrations based on historical data and simplified assumptions — actual results will differ. Consult a qualified financial advisor before investing.
Calculators with real ticker data
All tickers →Each page preloads the fund's verified yield, payment schedule, and growth history — compiled from official sources, with the verification date shown.
- SCHDSchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF3.22% yield
- JEPIJPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF8.17% dist. rate
- JEPQJPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF10.22% dist. rate
- QQQINEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF13.54% dist. rate
- VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETF1.05% yield
- MSTYYieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF62.22% dist. rate
- ULTYYieldMax Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF60.16% dist. rate
- SPYINEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF11.79% dist. rate
- VYMVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF2.19% yield
- ORealty Income Corporation5.18% yield
- NVDYYieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF47.09% dist. rate
- KOThe Coca-Cola Company2.49% yield
Why reinvesting dividends matters
A dividend taken as cash buys nothing; a dividend reinvested buys shares that pay their own dividends. Over long horizons that second loop is where a large share of total stock-market returns has historically come from. The calculator above makes the effect concrete: toggle DRIP off and compare the two ending balances.
What the inputs mean
- Dividend yield — annual dividends as a percent of price. The per-ticker pages fill this in from verified trailing-twelve-month payments.
- Dividend growth— how fast the payout itself rises each year. Dividend-growth ETFs like VIG or DGRO emphasize this; option-income funds like JEPI shouldn't assume any.
- Price growth — share-price appreciation, separate from dividends. Together they approximate total return.
How this calculator works (assumptions & method)
- The simulation steps month by month. Share price compounds at the annual price-growth rate; monthly contributions buy shares at that month's price; dividends arrive on the fund's real payment schedule (monthly, quarterly, etc.) and — with DRIP on — buy more shares the day they're paid.
- Dividend per share steps up once per year at the dividend-growth rate, matching how companies actually raise dividends. Weekly payers are modeled as monthly; the compounding difference is negligible.
- The tax rate applies to dividends only, at payment time. Price gains are treated as unrealized (no capital-gains tax is modeled). 0% approximates a tax-advantaged account like an IRA or 401(k).
- With DRIP off, dividends accumulate as uninvested cash earning nothing — the cleanest way to isolate what reinvestment itself contributes.
- Default yield, growth, and schedule come from the ticker's verified data (sources and date shown on the page). Historical rates are held constant for the whole horizon — real markets won't do that, which is why this is an illustration, not a forecast. Fund fees are already reflected in historical figures; the model adds no other costs.
Frequently asked questions
- What does this dividend calculator do?
- It projects how an investment grows when its dividends are reinvested (DRIP). You set the starting amount, monthly contributions, time horizon, and tax rate; the calculator simulates dividend payments month by month — on the actual payment schedule — and shows portfolio value, total dividends, monthly income, and a with-vs-without-DRIP comparison.
- What is a DRIP (dividend reinvestment plan)?
- A DRIP automatically uses each dividend payment to buy more shares instead of paying you cash. The new shares earn their own dividends, which buy more shares again — compounding. Most brokerages offer this free on stocks and ETFs, usually with fractional shares.
- How is dividend yield calculated?
- Dividend yield = annual dividends per share ÷ share price × 100. For example, a stock paying $1.00 per share annually at a $25 share price yields 4%. This site uses trailing-twelve-month (TTM) dividends — the sum of the last 12 months of actual payments — rather than projected ones.
- Does the calculator account for taxes?
- Yes — you can set a dividend tax rate. Use 0% for tax-advantaged accounts (IRA, 401(k)), 15% for the typical qualified-dividend rate, or a custom rate for non-qualified income like covered-call ETF or REIT distributions. The rate applies to dividends at payment time; price gains are treated as unrealized.
- How accurate are dividend projections?
- They're illustrations, not forecasts. The math itself is exact, but it holds yield, dividend growth, and price growth constant for the whole horizon — real markets won't cooperate. Companies cut dividends, yields move, and prices swing. Use projections to compare scenarios, not to predict balances.
- What's different about the per-ticker calculators?
- Each ticker page (SCHD, JEPI, VOO, and more) preloads that fund's verified numbers — TTM yield, real payment schedule, historical dividend growth, and price trend — compiled from the fund sponsor's official publications, with the verification date and sources shown on the page.