WORK BACKWARD FROM YOUR INCOME

Dividend Income Goal Calculator

Estimate the capital needed for a monthly or annual after-tax dividend income target.

START WITH YOUR TARGET

What would your income goal take?

$
%
%
A flat illustrative rate applied to all dividends.
ESTIMATED CAPITAL NEEDED
$300,000

Capital needed at the selected yield and flat tax rate, before fees.

Required capital = annual after-tax goal ÷ [yield × (1 − tax rate)]

$12,000 ÷ (0.04 × 1) = $300,000

Required annual gross income
$12,000
Estimated annual dividend tax
$0
Annual after-tax income target
$12,000

This estimates a capital target today. It does not estimate time to reach the goal or assume that a dividend yield will stay constant.

Turn income into a capital target

Divide the annual income you want by the assumed dividend yield. If your goal is after tax, reduce the yield by the tax rate first.

For $1,000 a month at a 4% yield with no tax: $12,000 ÷ 0.04 = $300,000. With a 20% flat dividend tax rate, required gross income is $15,000 a year and required capital is $375,000.

What this target leaves out

This is a snapshot of required capital, not a forecast of the time needed to accumulate it. It does not model fees, capital-gains tax, changes to distributions, or account-specific rules.

Model recurring contributions and reinvestment →

Read the methodology