Methodology
Where the numbers come from
Company data is read from each company's own SEC filings and checked; tax rules come from primary government sources. Data built 2026-11-10; tax rules checked October 31, 2026.
If a number matters to you, you should be able to trace it to a filing. Every company table links to one.
Short answer
Every company figure here is read from the company's own SEC filings (EDGAR XBRL), split-adjusted and checked against annual reports where the tags fall short. Three-year payouts are ratios of sums, coverage uses one band per business type, and every rule carries its source and checked date. The changelog below records each change.
Figures as of 2026-11-10.Company data
- Source. The SEC's EDGAR XBRL "company facts" API (data.sec.gov): the financial data each company tags in its 10-K, 40-F or annual 6-K. Canadian companies are included only if they file annual reports with the SEC, so every figure can be traced. Each value keeps the accession number of its filing, and every company table links to it.
- Fields. Dividends declared (or paid) per common share; diluted earnings per share; operating cash flow; capital expenditures; common dividends paid; weighted average diluted shares. Annual periods only (340–380 days); when a later filing restates a year, the later value wins.
- Gaps and derivations. Where a company does not tag dividends per share, we use the figure from its annual report (checked by hand and linked) or, failing that, derive it as common dividends paid ÷ weighted average shares and label it derived. Where EPS is not tagged, diluted EPS is derived as net income ÷ diluted shares. A stale tag (more than a year behind the latest results) is not used.
- Adjustments. Per-share values filed before a stock split are divided by the split ratio (splits confirmed from company filings). Fiscal years ending in January or the first days of February are labelled with the prior year (52/53-week years).
- Latest dividend. For US filers with a recent 10-Q, the latest declared quarterly dividend × 4; otherwise the latest fiscal year. We do not publish share prices or yields, because exchange prices are licensed data; enter a price to see a yield.
- Checks. Every year-over-year change below −20% or above +40% was reviewed and classified (cut, split, spin-off, currency change or tagging error) against the company's own releases; cut case studies quote the company's announcement.
- Coverage. 65 widely held dividend payers: 21 Canadian and 44 US, chosen for size and how widely they are held, not for performance. Inclusion is not a recommendation.
Coverage bands
One set of teaching bands per business type, applied the same way to every measure, so two readings can't contradict each other. They are rules of thumb for learning, not standards or ratings.
| Business type | Measure | Inside the band | Stretched | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial, technology, energy, materials, health care | Dividends ÷ diluted EPS | ≤ 60% | 60–80% | Earnings swing with the cycle, so a cushion matters. |
| Consumer staples and telecom | Dividends ÷ diluted EPS | ≤ 70% | 70–90% | Steadier demand supports a higher payout, but debt and capital needs still count. |
| Utilities | Dividends ÷ diluted EPS | ≤ 80% | 80–100% | Regulated cash flows support high payouts; growth spending is usually funded with debt, so free cash flow after all capital spending is often negative and is shown but not scored. |
| Pipelines and midstream | Dividends ÷ operating cash flow | ≤ 60% | 60–80% | Pipelines measure payout against distributable cash flow, which is not a standard filed figure, and depreciation depresses their earnings; dividends ÷ operating cash flow is the nearest measure in the filings (before growth spending, which is usually debt-funded). |
| REITs | Dividends ÷ operating cash flow | ≤ 80% | 80–95% | Depreciation depresses REIT earnings, so dividends are compared with operating cash flow (a stand-in for AFFO, which is not in XBRL filings). |
| Banks and insurers | Dividends ÷ diluted EPS | ≤ 50% | 50–70% | Capital rules limit payouts; free cash flow is not meaningful for lenders and insurers. |
How is the coverage verdict decided?
One rule, applied in the same order on company pages, the screener, the comparison tool and the payout checker. The step that decided each verdict is named on the company's page and in its short answer.
- Suspended dividend: strained.
- Payout band: the three-year payout (total dividends ÷ total earnings, or operating cash flow for pipelines and REITs) read against the band for the business type. For general and consumer-staples or telecom companies, free cash flow after capital spending is a second measure, and the better-covered of the two decides, because one-off charges often hit one but not the other. When earnings are distorted (a payout over 200%), free cash flow decides. Inside the band: well covered. Stretched: worth watching. Above the band or not covered: strained.
- Cut rule: a real decrease in the last five fiscal years lowers "well covered" to "worth watching". It never makes a verdict worse than that on its own. Spin-off resets, where holders received the new company's shares, are not counted as cuts.
Everything else is shown as a note and never changes the verdict: older cuts, spin-off resets, earnings and cash flow pointing different ways, and a dividend growing faster than earnings. The payout checker applies step 2 to one year of the numbers you enter, and shows the company page's three-year verdict next to it when you load a company. Streaks ("years without a decrease") never cross a gap in the data: they count from the first year of the unbroken series.
Dividend income and growth projector
- Annual income = shares × annual dividend per share; per payment = annual ÷ payments per year.
- Yield today = dividend ÷ today's price; yield on cost = dividend ÷ your average cost.
- Projection: income × (1 + growth)^years, with no cuts and no new purchases. Dividends collected sums each year's income.
- Preloaded values: the latest declared quarterly dividend × 4 where a recent 10-Q shows it (US filers), otherwise the latest fiscal year's dividends per share.
DRIP calculator (fair comparison)
- Each payment: dividend = shares × annual dividend per share ÷ payments per year, less tax or withholding drag.
- DRIP: the net dividend buys shares at the price less any plan discount; contributions buy at the market price.
- Alternative: the net dividend is kept as cash that compounds at the return you choose (default: the stock's own yield plus price growth), or is spent.
- Smooth price and dividend growth are simplifications; real dividends can be cut.
After-tax dividend comparator
- Canada: 2026 federal and provincial brackets and basic personal amounts; eligible dividends grossed up 38% with a 15.0198% federal credit, non-eligible grossed up 15% with a 9.0301% federal credit; provincial dividend tax credits from the latest published provincial forms; credits are non-refundable; Ontario surtax applied before the Ontario dividend credit. The extra tax is the difference between tax with and without the dividend.
- US dividends for Canadians: 15% treaty withholding in a TFSA or non-registered account, none in an RRSP/RRIF. In a non-registered account the dividend is taxed like interest with a simplified foreign tax credit (the lesser of the withholding and the Canadian tax on it).
- RRSP/RRIF: no tax when the dividend is paid; withdrawals are later taxed as ordinary income with no dividend credit. The table shows today's cash effect only.
- United States: 2026 qualified-dividend breakpoints (Rev. Proc. 2025-32) stacked on top of other taxable income; non-qualified dividends at the ordinary marginal rate you choose; 3.8% net investment income tax above the MAGI threshold. State tax, AMT and phase-outs are not modelled.
- Quebec is not modelled (separate Revenu Québec return). The Ontario Health Premium, age and pension credits, alternative minimum tax and income-tested benefits other than the OAS clawback flag are left out.
Payout ratio checker
- Payout of earnings = dividend ÷ diluted EPS. Cash payout = dividend ÷ free cash flow per share (operating cash flow − capital spending).
- One set of teaching bands per business type, applied identically to both measures: general 60/80%, consumer staples and telecom 70/90%, utilities 80/100%, pipelines 60/80% of operating cash flow, REITs 80/95% of operating cash flow, banks and insurers 50/70%.
- For utilities, pipelines, banks and insurers, free cash flow after all capital spending is shown but not scored (growth capex is debt-funded; FCF is not meaningful for lenders).
TFSA, RRSP or taxable: placement optimizer
- Drag per dollar of income by type and account for 2026: non-registered uses your marginal tax on that income type (eligible dividends with gross-up and credits; US dividends with 15% withholding and a simplified foreign tax credit; interest at full rates); TFSA loses 15% on US dividends; RRSP/RRIF has no tax or withholding now (treaty exemption).
- The optimizer solves the placement exactly as a min-cost flow over dollars, subject to the TFSA and RRSP space you enter.
- This year's tax only: RRSP withdrawals are taxed later as ordinary income whatever they hold, and growth, liquidity and contribution rules also matter.
US withholding tax calculator for Canadians
- US withholding on dividends paid to a Canadian resident: 15% under Article X of the Canada–US tax convention when treaty documentation (usually Form W-8BEN) is on file; 30% statutory rate without it.
- RRSPs and RRIFs are generally exempt under Article XXI of the convention. TFSAs, RESPs and FHSAs are not treated as retirement plans for this purpose, so 15% is withheld and cannot be recovered.
- This applies to US-listed shares held directly. A Canadian-listed fund that holds US shares has the withholding happen inside the fund, and an RRSP does not avoid it in that structure.
Dividend vs interest vs capital gains (Canada)
- Same 2026 engine as the after-tax comparator: tax with and without the extra income, so credits and brackets are applied exactly once.
- Capital gains: half of the gain is included in income (the current inclusion rate). US dividends include the 15% treaty withholding and a simplified foreign tax credit.
- Estimate only; Quebec and many credits are not modelled.
Ex-dividend date calculator (T+1)
- Canada moved to T+1 settlement on May 27, 2024 and the US on May 28, 2024. With one-day settlement, the ex-dividend date is the record date (when it is a business day).
- You must buy before the ex-date to be a shareholder of record, so the last day to buy is the business day before the ex-date. Selling on or after the ex-date keeps the dividend.
- Exchanges can set different dates for unusually large distributions (for example some special dividends). The exchange notice is the authority.
Compare two dividend companies
- All figures come from each company's SEC filings (EDGAR XBRL) or verified annual reports; see methodology.
- History is indexed to 100 at the first fiscal year both companies report, so different currencies compare fairly.
Dividend income planner
- Income per holding = shares × annual dividend per share, converted to CAD at your rate.
- Non-registered tax uses the same 2026 engine as the after-tax comparator; US dividends lose 15% to withholding outside an RRSP/RRIF (recoverable as a foreign tax credit only in a non-registered account).
- Concentration uses value when you enter prices, otherwise income.
Canadian tax model
2026 federal and provincial brackets (CRA current-year table) and basic personal amounts (T4127, January 2026); gross-up 38% / 15%; federal dividend tax credit 15.0198% / 9.0301% of the grossed-up amount; provincial credits from the 2025 worksheets 5001-D to 5014-D (the 2026 versions were not yet published on October 31, 2026; BC and Ontario confirm their 2026 rates are unchanged). Credits are non-refundable. The Ontario surtax is applied before the Ontario dividend tax credit. Foreign dividends are fully taxable with a simplified foreign tax credit. Quebec, the Ontario Health Premium, age, pension and other credits, and alternative minimum tax are not modelled.
US tax model
2026 qualified-dividend breakpoints from Rev. Proc. 2025-32 section 4.03, stacked on top of other taxable income; non-qualified dividends at the ordinary marginal rate you select; 3.8% net investment income tax above unindexed MAGI thresholds. State tax, AMT and phase-outs are not modelled.
Can I download the data?
Yes. Every company's yearly figures are a CSV file linked from its page (for example Enbridge), and the whole dataset is one file: dividend-history.csv (65 companies, built 2026-11-10). Each row carries the filing form and accession number it came from. Please credit HighDividendPayingStocks.com (MITEY) and the SEC filings when you reuse it.
All rule sources
Each source below was checked against the rule values the calculators use on October 31, 2026; the date is repeated on every tax page that cites it.
- CRA — Line 12000 and 12010: Taxable amount of dividends (checked October 31, 2026)
- CRA — Line 40425: Federal dividend tax credit (checked October 31, 2026)
- CRA — 5000-D1 Federal Worksheet (2025): gross-up and dividend tax credit rates (checked October 31, 2026)
- CRA — Eligible dividends (checked October 31, 2026)
- CRA — Line 12100: Interest and other investment income (foreign dividends) (checked October 31, 2026)
- CRA — Line 40500: Federal foreign tax credit (Form T2209) (checked October 31, 2026)
- CRA — Tax rates and income brackets for individuals (current year) (checked October 31, 2026)
- CRA — T4127 Payroll Deductions Formulas (January 2026) (checked October 31, 2026)
- CRA — 2025 provincial and territorial worksheets (5001-D to 5014-D): dividend tax credit rates (checked October 31, 2026)
- Ontario — Ontario dividend tax credit (checked October 31, 2026)
- Ontario — 2026 Budget, Annex (non-eligible dividend tax credit change from 2027) (checked October 31, 2026)
- British Columbia — Basic tax credits (dividend tax credit rates) (checked October 31, 2026)
- Revenu Québec — Line 415: Dividend tax credit (checked October 31, 2026)
- CRA — IT-88R2 (archived): stock dividends and dividend reinvestment, paragraph 27 (checked October 31, 2026)
- CRA — T4037 Capital Gains guide (adjusted cost base) (checked October 31, 2026)
- Service Canada — OAS pension recovery tax (checked October 31, 2026)
- Canada–United States Tax Convention, consolidated text (Department of Finance Canada) (checked October 31, 2026)
- IRS — Private letter ruling 200810013 (RRSPs and RRIFs under Article XXI(2) of the treaty) (checked October 31, 2026)
- IRS — Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities (checked October 31, 2026)
- IRS — Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses (checked October 31, 2026)
- IRS — Instructions for Form 1099-DIV (checked October 31, 2026)
- IRS — Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments, section 4.03) (checked October 31, 2026)
- IRS — Net investment income tax (checked October 31, 2026)
- SEC — Press release 2023-29: T+1 settlement (compliance date May 28, 2024) (checked October 31, 2026)
- Canadian Securities Administrators — Notice of amendments to NI 24-101 for T+1 (May 27, 2024) (checked October 31, 2026)
- TMX — Bulletin: ex-dividend dates move to the record date under T+1 (checked October 31, 2026)
- FINRA — Rule 11140: Transactions in securities ex-dividend (checked October 31, 2026)
Changelog
- One coverage rule everywhere, in a fixed order (suspension, three-year payout band, then a cut in the last five years), with the deciding step named on each company page; the payout checker uses the same rule on one year and shows the three-year verdict beside it. Filled dividend years from annual reports for P&G (2016–2022), Chevron (2016–2021), UPS (2016–2020), Nutrien (2018–2021), Realty Income (2016) and CN (2021); streaks no longer cross a data gap. One spin-off rule: 3M (Solventum), AT&T (WarnerMedia) and International Paper (Sylvamo) are now shown as resets, like TC Energy and W. P. Carey. Added a yield at the share price a company prints in its own annual filing, where it prints one (11 companies). Per-company profiles from the filings. Added two 2026 cuts announced after the companies' fiscal 2025: TELUS (July 31, 2026) and LyondellBasell (February 2026); the coverage rule now counts a cut announced since the latest fiscal year.
- Every company page, guide, tax page and calculator now opens with a short answer and works one example with real numbers from the engine, with a link that opens it in the calculator. Calculators keep their inputs in the page address so results can be shared. Added CSV downloads, a peer table and a 'what changed' summary on each company page, Dataset structured data with the CSV, the Ask Mitey chat (provided by Calculating.ca), and embeds for the after-tax calculator and payout checker.
- Coverage: one band set per business type everywhere (pipelines 60/80% of operating cash flow), earnings payouts above 200% shown as 'over 200%' with a distorted-earnings flag, and streaks labelled as counting from fiscal 2016, where our data starts.
- Companies: dropped five low yielders (CP, TXN, HD, MCD, JPM) and added 19 higher-yield payers after a second primary-source check, for 65 in total; the cut tracker grew to 20 cases. The screener now sorts by coverage, then dividend growth, by default.
- Rebuilt as a filing-based data site: dividends per share, EPS and cash flow from SEC EDGAR for each company, a screener, the dividend-cut tracker, the income planner and the TFSA/RRSP placement optimizer.
- Tax rules checked against CRA, Finance Canada, IRS and treaty sources (2026 federal and provincial brackets, gross-ups and credits, US qualified-dividend bands, NIIT, treaty withholding).
| FY2023 | DPS US$6.00 · EPS US$-12.63Payout not covered |
|---|---|
| FY2024 | DPS US$3.61 · EPS US$7.55Payout 48% |
| FY2025 | DPS US$2.92 · EPS US$6.00Payout 49% |
| Average of the three yearly ratios | 16%Dominated by the year with very low earnings |
| Sum of dividends ÷ sum of EPS | over 200%Per-share sums shown; the screen uses dollar totals from the cash-flow statement where available |
Open 3M's dividend history →Computed 2026-11-10.
Estimate for education, not advice. This site does not recommend, rate or rank any security and does not know your full situation. Results depend on your inputs and the simplifications listed under Method. Check tax details with the CRA or IRS, or a qualified professional. Read the disclaimer.