Want money coming in from dividends? What RM5k–RM20k earns a month

“Daus, if I put in RM15 thousand, how much do I get a month?”

This is the question that comes in most often when Daus mentions dividends. The honest answer: smaller than many people imagine, and not fixed. But dividends do exist, and they land on their own without you doing anything. This page shows the real numbers first, then explains why.

Calculate first

Enter your capital, then pick a dividend yield. The three quick picks in the calculator are:

• 3% — an estimate for a typical dividend ETF.
• 5% — an estimate for an ETF or stock focused on high dividends.
• 8% — an estimate for an aggressive “income” ETF, for example JEPI (an ETF that collects monthly payments by selling other people the right to buy its shares).

If you’re not sure, try all three.

Work it out: my capital, how much a month?

A rough estimate only. Dividend yields change every year, and the unit price can rise or fall.

Capital (RM)Yearly dividend yield (%)Quick pick:3%5%8%

Where do the dividends come from?

US stocks / ETFs (30% tax withheld) Bursa Malaysia stocks (no withholding)

Fill in capital and yield above

Quick table

Estimated monthly amount after the 30% tax deduction on American dividends:

Capital	3% yield	5% yield	8% yield
RM5,000	RM8.75	RM14.58	RM23.33
RM10,000	RM17.50	RM29.17	RM46.67
RM15,000	RM26.25	RM43.75	RM70.00
RM20,000	RM35.00	RM58.33	RM93.33

How it is calculated: capital × yield × 70% ÷ 12 months. Example: RM15,000 × 5% = RM750 a year. Deduct 30% tax and it becomes RM525. Divide by 12 months and it is about RM44 a month.

So when you see someone say “I get RM1,000 a month from dividends”, the capital behind that number is usually hundreds of thousands of ringgit, not tens of thousands.

Which investments pay dividends — a beginner’s summary

When people say “dividends”, there are actually several kinds of investment that pay out. Each has a different entry price, tax treatment and risk:

	ASB	Bursa REITs	Bursa dividend stocks	US stocks / ETFs
Price	Fixed unit price of RM1	Moves with the market	Moves with the market	Moves with the market
Minimum	RM10 (Bumiputera, aged 18+). Cap RM300,000	1 lot = 100 units × price	1 lot = 100 units × price	Fractional from USD5 per order
Payout	5.25 sen (2023), 5.75 sen (2024), 5.75 sen (2025) per unit	A REIT must distribute at least 90% of its income to be tax-exempt at the REIT level	Depends on company profit, can be cut	Depends on company profit, can be cut
Tax	—	The 10% withholding for individuals ended after YA2025. Now declared in your tax return. Re-check after Budget 2027 (9 Oct 2026)	Single-tier, nothing deducted. 2% tax only if your dividends exceed RM100,000 a year	30% deducted in America
Main risk	Not a bank deposit, so not under PIDM	REIT price falls, rents drop	Company profit falls, dividend cut	Price falls + exchange rate

A few notes:

• ASB isn’t in Moomoo. It’s an ASNB product; Daus includes it here because many people compare. Its unit price is fixed, but Daus doesn’t say the capital is guaranteed.
• A REIT is a fund that holds property, such as malls, offices and hospitals, and distributes the rent to unit holders. Full explanation in REITs in Moomoo.
• Bursa stocks carry an RM3 platform fee per order in Moomoo, so small orders pay a big percentage in fees.
• A Moomoo account: Daus suggests opening one once you have RM1,000 for the first deposit. The reasons are in starting with small capital.

Where dividend money comes from

A dividendDividendA portion of company profit paid out to shareholders.See it in the glossary → is a share of a company’s profit paid out to its shareholders. If you hold an ETF, that ETF collects dividends from all the companies in its “basket”, then distributes them to you on a schedule. Some pay every month, some every three months.

Dividend yieldDividend yieldAnnual dividend shown as a percentage of the stock's current price.See it in the glossary → is the total dividends for a year divided by the current price. If the price goes up, the yield percentage falls even though the dividend is the same. So yield is not a fixed rate like an FD.

Why do some ETFs have a yield of 8% or more? Usually because they use an extra strategy, for example selling other people the right to buy the shares to collect monthly payments. The price: when the market rises strongly, that ETF doesn’t rise fully. The full explanation with the JEPI example is in the dividend ETF section of the World of ETFs page.

Why dividends are not a fixed salary

1. The amount changes. A company can cut its dividend when profit drops. In the app, JEPI paid USD6.36 a unit in 2022 but only USD4.72 in 2025.
2. Capital can shrink. Unit prices move every day. You may get RM44 a month in dividends, but in a bad year that RM15,000 of capital could fall to RM12,000. The calculator above shows this number too so you don’t overlook it.
3. American dividends are cut by 30%. The American government deducts 30% before the money reaches a Malaysian investor. That is tax, not a Moomoo charge.

Buy before the dividend, sell after — can you profit?

Short answer: usually not. Many people think it’s a shortcut: buy the day before the ex-dividend date, collect the dividend, then sell straight away. But the market already accounts for this.

The price drops by about the dividend on the ex-dividend date. After that date, new buyers no longer get this round’s dividend, so the share price usually falls by roughly the amount paid. A simple example: a USD50 stock paying a USD0.50 dividend typically opens around USD49.50 on the ex-dividend date. The dividend goes into your left pocket, but the share value comes out of your right pocket.

Then three more costs eat what’s left:

• Fees twice. Every buy and sell order has fees. A Bursa stock, for example, has an RM3 platform fee per order plus other charges. US stocks carry a platform fee and stamp duty on every order.
• 30% tax on American dividends. Of that USD0.50, only USD0.35 reaches you, but the share price still drops by about USD0.50.
• Sale money isn’t usable straight away. After you sell, the money waits T+2 working days before it can buy something else or be withdrawn.

So a dividend isn’t free money. It’s part of the company’s value handed to you as cash. The people who benefit from dividends are usually those who hold for years, not those who jump in and out around the ex-dividend date. If quick in-and-out trading appeals to you, read trading vs long-term investing first.

How dividends reach your bank account

Many people think dividends go straight into the bank account like a salary. There are actually three steps:

1. It lands in your Moomoo account first. Dividends from American shares or ETFs arrive as USD cash in your Moomoo account. Bursa dividends arrive in ringgit.
2. Convert USD to ringgit. Converting USD to MYR is allowed (only MYR to USD before a buy is restricted). In the app, tap the Exchange icon in the top row of the Accounts tab, or go to Accounts → Transfers → Exchange. That screen shows the exchange rate before you confirm.
3. Withdraw to your bank. Follow the steps in the withdraw tutorial. A withdrawal usually arrives within 1 working day.

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1. AExchange icon (shortcut)
2. 1Transfers tab
3. 2Exchange

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Want dividends to buy new units automatically? (DRIP)

If you don’t need the money right now, dividends can buy new units automatically. This feature is called Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP). The setting is under Accounts → All, in the Trade → Dividend Reinvestment section. Over time, those extra units pay dividends of their own.

In Daus’s account, DRIP buys show up in Accounts → History with a DRIP badge. Notice the quantities are small fractions, for example 0.1611 units of VOO, because the dividends themselves are small. Daus hasn’t checked whether DRIP works the same way for Bursa stocks, or what each DRIP buy costs in fees. So tap a DRIP record in History and check its Fee Details for your own account.

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1. DRIP buys

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When does the first dividend land?

Every share and ETF has a date called ex-dividend. You must already hold the units before that date to qualify for this round’s dividend. Buy on or after that date and you miss this round, and wait for the next one.

In Moomoo, open the stock page → Company tab → Dividends. It shows the last ex-dividend date, the dividend per share, the yield (Div Yield TTM) and how many payments a year. More explanation in after your first buy.

⤢ab

1. aLast ex-dividend date
2. bYield & payments a year

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Bursa dividends or American dividends?

	Bursa share dividends	American share/ETF dividends
Currency	Ringgit	USD, needs converting
Tax deduction	Single-tier, nothing deducted at source	30% deducted in America
Payment schedule	Usually once or twice a year	Some monthly, some every 3 months

One note for people whose yearly dividends are very large: from YA2025, individuals in Malaysia who receive dividends above RM100,000 a year are charged 2% tax. It has nothing to do with the 30% US withholding. For most people just starting out, this doesn’t apply.

Dividends versus ASB

ASB pays a distribution once a year, and its unit price is fixed at RM1. Dividend shares and ETFs pay more often, but their unit prices move. So ASB suits the part of your money you want stable. Dividend shares suit spare money you can bear watching go up and down, hoping that both the dividends and the price grow over the long term. Many people keep both.