VYM, the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF, pays dividends four times per year on a quarterly schedule. Payments typically land in March, June, September, and December, with the cash hitting your brokerage account a few business days after each ex-dividend date.
When Payments Arrive Each Quarter
VYM follows a consistent pattern. The ex-dividend date falls around the third Friday of the final month in each quarter, and the payable date follows on the next business day or two after that. Here’s what recent distributions looked like:
- March 2026: $0.8617 per share, paid March 24
- December 2025: $0.9474 per share, paid December 23
- September 2025: $0.8417 per share, paid September 23
- June 2025: $0.8617 per share, paid June 24
- March 2025: $0.8500 per share, paid March 25
The exact dates shift slightly each quarter depending on weekends and holidays, but the rhythm stays the same: ex-dividend in the third week of the month, payment within a few business days.
How Much You Need to Receive a Payment
To qualify for a quarterly dividend, you must own shares before the ex-dividend date. If you buy on the ex-dividend date itself, you won’t receive that quarter’s payout. The record date and ex-dividend date for VYM typically fall on the same day, which is the standard settlement structure for ETFs.
If you hold 100 shares, a typical quarterly payment of roughly $0.85 per share would deliver about $85 before taxes. Over four quarters, that adds up to around $340 to $360 per year at recent payout levels. The December payment tends to run slightly higher than the other three quarters.
Why the Per-Share Amount Varies
Each quarter’s dividend isn’t a fixed number. VYM holds around 500 large-cap U.S. stocks selected for above-average dividend yields, and the ETF passes through whatever dividends those underlying companies pay during the quarter. When more of the fund’s holdings increase their dividends or when special dividends come through, VYM’s quarterly payout rises. When companies cut dividends or the fund’s composition shifts, the payout can dip.
Looking at the four quarters of calendar year 2025, individual payments ranged from $0.8417 to $0.9474 per share. That variation is normal and reflects the natural timing of when the fund’s holdings distribute their own dividends throughout the year.
What VYM Holds and Excludes
VYM tracks the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index, which screens for U.S. stocks with the highest forecasted dividend yields. One notable design choice: the index excludes REITs (real estate investment trusts). Vanguard explains this is because REIT dividends generally don’t qualify for the lower tax rates that apply to qualified dividends. For you as an investor, this means VYM’s payouts are more likely to be taxed at the favorable qualified dividend rate rather than as ordinary income, which can make a meaningful difference in a taxable brokerage account.
How Dividends Get Paid in Your Account
Most brokerage accounts give you two options for handling VYM’s quarterly dividends. You can take them as cash, which deposits the payment into your settlement account, or you can reinvest them automatically to buy additional shares of VYM. Reinvestment typically happens on the payable date at whatever price VYM is trading at that day. Many brokerages allow fractional share reinvestment, so the full dividend amount gets put to work rather than leaving a small cash remainder sitting idle.
If you’re using VYM for income, the quarterly schedule means you’ll receive four deposits spread fairly evenly across the year. Some investors pair VYM with other ETFs that pay in different months to create a more frequent income stream, though VYM’s own schedule covers every quarter consistently.