Short answer: Yes, $DGRO's dividends are qualified. iShares reported that 100% of DGRO's 2025 dividend income was qualified dividend income, so in a taxable account it's taxed at the lower long-term capital gains rates (as long as you meet the holding period). $DGRO pays quarterly, paid $1.49 per share over the last 12 months, and yields about 2.0%.
DGRO at a glance
- Dividend yield
- 2.0%
- Paid last 12 months
- $1.49 / share
- Pays dividends
- quarterly
- Expense ratio
- 0.08%
- 2025 qualified dividends
- 100%
- Average per year since 2014
- +12.6%
Yield, expense ratio and total return from the TopDividendETFsPRO database, updated October 30, 2026. Per-share payments and qualified percentage from iShares, through the September 2026 payment.
The tax question is one of the most searched things about $DGRO, and I get why. If you hold a dividend fund in a regular brokerage account, the difference between qualified and non-qualified dividends can be the difference between paying 15% and paying your full income tax rate on every check.
The iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF launched on June 10, 2014, holds about 390 U.S. dividend growers, and manages over $44 billion. It's one of the cheapest and broadest dividend growth funds you can buy.
Comparing dividend ETFs? I built TopDividendETFsPRO for exactly this: live yields, total returns, price decay flags, ratings and advanced filters for 130+ income ETFs, so you can see how $DGRO stacks up against $SCHD, $VIG and the high-yield crowd in one table. Plans start at $12.95/mo, or grab lifetime access.
Are DGRO dividends qualified? Yes, and here's why
Every year iShares publishes the share of each fund's dividend income that counts as qualified. For the 2025 tax year, $DGRO came in at 100.00%. Same for its cousins $HDV and $DVY.
That isn't luck. It's baked into the index. $DGRO tracks the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index, and the index rules exclude real estate investment trusts specifically because the dividends need to be qualified income. REIT payouts are mostly taxed as ordinary income, so leaving them out keeps the fund's income clean for taxable accounts.
What qualified means in plain English:
- In a taxable account: qualified dividends are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% depending on your income, the same rates as long-term capital gains. Non-qualified dividends get taxed like your paycheck.
- The holding period still applies to you: you generally need to have owned your $DGRO shares for more than 60 days during the 121-day window around the ex-dividend date. Buy the day before the ex-date and sell a week later, and that payment won't count as qualified for you.
- In an IRA or 401(k): none of this matters until you withdraw. Roth money isn't taxed at all if you follow the rules.
This is the part most people miss: a fund's percentage can change from year to year. 100% in 2025 is a great sign, but your 1099-DIV is always the final word for your account. Box 1b shows the qualified portion.
DGRO dividend schedule and ex-dates for 2026
$DGRO has paid three dividends so far in 2026. You need to own shares before the ex-dividend date to get paid, and the cash lands on the pay date:
| Ex-dividend date | Pay date | Per share |
|---|---|---|
| March 17, 2026 | March 20, 2026 | $0.3311 |
| June 15, 2026 | June 18, 2026 | $0.3306 |
| September 15, 2026 | September 18, 2026 | $0.3850 |
| Mid-December 2026 (expected) | A few days after | Not announced yet |
So when does $DGRO pay dividends? Four times a year: March, June, September and December. The last four December ex-dates were December 13, 2022, December 20, 2023, December 17, 2024 and December 16, 2025, so expect the next one somewhere in the middle of December 2026.
Notice the December payment tends to be the biggest of the year. In 2025 it was $0.447 a share, versus $0.311 in March. That's normal for funds like this. The amount depends on when the companies inside actually pay, so judge the dividend by the full year, not by one quarter.
DGRO dividend history: how fast is it growing?
The whole point of a dividend growth fund is that the check gets bigger. Here's what $DGRO paid per share by calendar year:
| Year | Total per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $1.17 | |
| 2023 | $1.32 | +12.7% |
| 2024 | $1.39 | +5.3% |
| 2025 | $1.45 | +4.7% |
| Last 12 months (through Sep 2026) | $1.49 |
From 2022 to 2025 the annual payout rose about 24%, or roughly 7.5% a year. And 2026 is running ahead again: the first three payments add up to $1.047 a share, about 4.3% more than the same three payments in 2025.
The growth has slowed from that big 2023 jump, and I'd be lying if I said otherwise. But mid-single-digit raises on top of a 2% yield, from a fund that costs 0.08%, is a solid foundation. Inflation-beating income growth is exactly what you want from this kind of fund.
How DGRO picks its stocks
Understanding the rules tells you what kind of income you're actually getting. The Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index requires a company to have:
- At least five years of uninterrupted annual dividend growth. That's a lower bar than $VIG's ten, so $DGRO can catch companies earlier in their dividend growth story.
- A payout ratio under 75% and a positive earnings forecast, so the dividend isn't eating the whole profit.
- A yield that is not in the top 10% of the universe. This is the yield trap filter. The very highest yielders often have a dividend cut coming.
Then the index weights stocks by the dividend dollars they pay, not just by size. It's reconstituted once a year and rebalanced every quarter. Right now financials, technology, health care, consumer staples and industrials are the biggest sectors.
I like this setup. It's not chasing yield, it's chasing companies that keep raising their payouts while still having room to keep doing it. If you want to see how that plays out over 10 or 20 years with reinvesting, run it in the $DGRO dividend calculator.
How much does $10,000 in DGRO pay?
At today's yield of 2.0%, here's what $10,000 in $DGRO would pay over the next year if the yield holds:
| Invested | Per quarter | Per month (average) | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $50.00 | $16.67 | $200 |
If your goal is $1,000 a month in dividends from $DGRO alone, you'd need about $600,000 invested at today's yield. That's a lot, but here's how I think about it: a dividend growth fund is built for what the income becomes, not what it is on day one. If the payout keeps growing around 5% to 7% a year, the income on your original money roughly doubles in 10 to 14 years without you adding a dollar.
Total return matters too. With dividends reinvested, $DGRO has returned +337% since launch, about +12.6% a year. That means $10,000 at launch would be worth around $43,700 today.
Run your own DGRO numbers
Pick an amount, add a monthly deposit, and see your $DGRO dividend income year by year.
DGRO vs SCHD, VIG and VYM: income compared
Most people searching for $DGRO are also looking at the other big dividend ETFs. Same $10,000 in each:
| ETF | Yield | $10K pays per year | Expense ratio | Avg return per year* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $DGRO | 2.0% | $200 | 0.08% | +12.6% |
| $SCHD | 3.2% | $320 | 0.06% | +13.7% |
| $VIG | 1.5% | $150 | 0.04% | +10.3% |
| $VYM | 2.3% | $230 | 0.04% | +9.3% |
| $VOO | 1.1% | $110 | 0.03% | +14.8% |
$DGRO sits right in the middle. More income than $VIG or the S&P 500, less than $SCHD. The tradeoff with $SCHD is concentration: $SCHD holds about 100 stocks and leans hard into higher yielders, while $DGRO spreads across roughly 390 and holds more tech and financials. I broke down $SCHD in my full SCHD review, and if you're wondering why $VOO pays so little, I covered that in does VOO pay dividends. For the higher-yield Vanguard option, see my VYM dividend breakdown.
To compare long-run total returns across all of these on equal footing, my sister site ETFTotalReturns.com ranks them side by side. For a ranked list of dividend ETFs with price decay flags, check TopDividendETFs.com.
My take: who DGRO is for
I've been a dividend investor for over a decade, and funds like $DGRO are the kind of thing I wish I'd understood earlier. It's boring in the best way.
- If you hold dividends in a taxable account: $DGRO is one of the cleaner choices out there. 100% qualified income in 2025 and no REITs by design.
- If you're building toward income 10+ years out: the low starting yield matters less than the growth. Reinvest and let the payout compound.
- If you need high income today: a 2% yield won't get you there on its own. People in that spot usually pair a core like $DGRO with something that pays more, often monthly. My sister site MonthlyETFs.com tracks those.
What I'd avoid is dumping a steady grower like $DGRO for a 15% yielder just because the number looks bigger. High yield with a share price that keeps sliding can leave you with less income later, not more. Always check total return and price decay before you buy, which is exactly what I track in TopDividendETFsPRO.
See how every income ETF really performs
TopDividendETFsPRO shows live yields, total returns, price decay flags and ratings for 130+ income ETFs, with advanced filters to find what fits you. From $12.95/mo or lifetime access.
DGRO dividend FAQ
Are DGRO dividends qualified?
Yes. iShares reported that 100% of $DGRO's ordinary dividend income for 2025 was qualified dividend income. The index it tracks excludes REITs specifically so the dividends can be qualified. Your own 1099-DIV is the final word for your account.
When does DGRO pay dividends?
$DGRO pays quarterly, four times a year. The ex-dividend dates usually land in mid-March, mid-June, mid-to-late September and mid-December, with payment three to six days after the ex-date.
When is the next DGRO ex-dividend date?
The next $DGRO ex-dividend date is expected in mid-December 2026. The last four December ex-dates were December 13, 2022, December 20, 2023, December 17, 2024 and December 16, 2025. iShares confirms the exact date shortly before.
What is DGRO's dividend yield?
$DGRO's dividend yield is currently about 2.0%, based on the TopDividendETFsPRO database, which updates daily.
What is DGRO's expense ratio?
$DGRO charges 0.08% a year, or $8 on every $10,000 invested.
Sources
- iShares: DGRO fund page (fund facts, distributions, holdings count, expense ratio)
- iShares: 2025 qualified dividend income summary (DGRO 100.00%)
- Morningstar: US Dividend Growth Index overview (selection rules, REIT exclusion)
- StockAnalysis: DGRO dividend history (2022 to 2024 payments)
- Live yield, total return and expense ratios: TopDividendETFsPRO.com database
This article is for education only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Do your own research and read the fund's prospectus before investing, and talk to a tax professional about your own situation. Yields, payments and returns change, and past performance does not guarantee future results. Dividend payments and tax data as of October 22, 2026; live numbers update daily.