See how much dividend income your portfolio could generate.

How the dividend calculator works

This dividend calculator projects how much income a dividend stock or ETF could generate over time. You enter your share count, the current price, the annual dividend per share, how often it pays, and your assumptions for dividend growth, price growth, and inflation. The tool then shows your starting income, dividend yield, yield on cost, projected income each year, the inflation-adjusted value of that income, and your final portfolio value.

Dividend yield vs yield on cost

Dividend yield is the annual dividend divided by the current share price — what a new buyer earns today. A $2 dividend on a $50 stock is a 4% yield. Yield on cost divides the dividend by what you originally paid. As a company raises its dividend over the years, your yield on cost can climb far above the current yield, even though new investors only see the lower number. This is the quiet power of holding rising-dividend stocks for the long term.

The power of reinvesting dividends (DRIP)

A dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) automatically uses each dividend to buy more shares. Those new shares then pay dividends too, which buy even more shares — a compounding loop. Toggle reinvestment on and off in the calculator to see how much it changes your final share count, income, and portfolio value. Over decades, reinvestment often accounts for a large share of total return.

Why inflation matters for dividend income

A dividend check that looks generous today buys less in the future as prices rise. That's why this calculator runs two projections side by side:

• Nominal income — the headline dollar amount your dividends pay each year.
• Inflation-adjusted income — that same income restated in today's purchasing power.

If your dividend growth rate beats inflation, your real income still rises over time. If it lags, your purchasing power can erode even as the nominal number grows. The chart makes this trade-off easy to see.

Are dividends guaranteed?

No. Companies can cut or suspend dividends at any time, especially during recessions, and the growth rate you enter is only an assumption. This calculator does not predict what any specific company will pay — it simply applies your inputs. Diversifying across many dividend payers can reduce the impact of any single cut.

A note on dividend taxes

In a taxable account, dividends are taxed each year. Qualified dividends generally get the lower long-term capital gains rates (0%, 15%, or 20%), while ordinary (non-qualified) dividends are taxed at your regular rate. This calculator projects pre-tax income. To estimate the tax when you eventually sell shares, use our long-term capital gains calculator. For an income target, try the monthly dividend income calculator.