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Payment date vs ex-dividend date

Dividend Payment Date vs Ex-Dividend Date

The ex-dividend date is the cut-off to qualify: you must own the stock before the ex-dividend date to receive the next dividend. The payment date is when the cash actually lands in your account, usually a few weeks later. Between them sits the record date (when the company checks who owns the shares), and before them the declaration date (when the dividend is announced). OnlyDividends is built around the payment date: the app shows when each holding pays you and notifies you on the day the money arrives. Ex-dividend dates are not shown in the app; you can look them up on this website.

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01

Four dates, easy to mix up

Every dividend has a sequence of dates, and confusing two of them can cost you a payout. Buy on or after the ex-dividend date and you miss this dividend; sell too early and you may forfeit it too.

Brokerages rarely lay these dates out clearly side by side, so investors end up cross-checking declaration, ex-dividend, record, and payment dates one stock at a time, then trying to remember which cut-off applies to which holding.

The practical questions are simple: by when do I need to own the stock, and when will I actually be paid?

02

The date that pays you, tracked for you

OnlyDividends is built around one of these four dates: the payment date, the day the cash actually lands in your account. It is the date that structures your calendar, your income chart, and your notifications.

The ex-dividend date is a buy-side decision. It determines whether you qualify for the next payment, but once you already hold the shares it no longer changes what you receive. So the app deliberately leaves it out and keeps the screen on what you will be paid and when. If you need ex-dividend dates while researching a purchase, this website lists them.

  • Payment date shown for every holding (the day the cash arrives)
  • A rolling 12-month calendar of your dividend paydays
  • Estimated per-payment amount, after withholding tax
  • A notification on the payment date with the net amount
  • No ex-dividend dates in the app by design; look them up on this website
  • No bank login and no brokerage credentials, ever
03

How OnlyDividends handles dividend dates

  • 01

    Payment dates on a forward calendar

    Every upcoming payday for your holdings, month by month, so your income is never a guess.

  • 02

    Payment-date notifications

    Get a reminder when each dividend is paid, showing the net amount. Notifications are tied to the payment date only.

  • 03

    Ex-dividend dates stay on the web

    The app stays focused on the payment date. When you are researching a purchase, upcoming ex-dividend dates are listed on this website instead.

  • 04

    Amount per payment, after tax

    Each dated payment shows an estimated net figure, so the calendar entry and the income line up.

  • 05

    Global, multi-currency

    Payment dates across 70+ exchanges in six currencies, shown the way you read them.

  • 06

    No bank or brokerage linking

    Payment dates are projected from public market data and your share counts, never from access to your accounts.

How OnlyDividends handles dividend dates
04

The four dividend dates, explained

What it meansWhenIn OnlyDividends
Declaration dateDividend announcedFirstNot in the app
Ex-dividend dateCut-off to qualifyOwn before thisOn the website
Record dateOwnership checkedDay after ex-dateNot in the app
Payment dateCash arrivesLastShown + notification
Action for youOwn before ex-dateThen wait for pay datePay date tracked
05

Who this is for

  • New dividend investors learning how the dates work
  • Investors who want to know when they will actually be paid
  • Income investors planning cash flow around payment dates
  • Anyone unsure which of the four dividend dates actually matters
  • Privacy-focused investors who refuse to link a bank or brokerage

Dividend Payment Date vs Ex-Dividend Date

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Frequently asked questions

The ex-dividend date is the cut-off to qualify: you must own the stock before it to receive the next dividend. The payment date is when the cash is actually credited to your account, typically a few weeks after the ex-dividend date. OnlyDividends tracks the payment date and notifies you the day you are paid.

No, and that is a deliberate choice. The app answers one question: when will I be paid, and how much. Once you already own a stock, the payment date is what determines when the money reaches your account, so it is the date that drives the calendar, the income chart, and the notifications. The ex-dividend date matters mainly at the moment you buy, so we publish upcoming ex-dividend dates on this website rather than adding them to the app.

You need to own the stock before its ex-dividend date. If you buy on or after the ex-dividend date, the previous owner receives this dividend and you get the next one. You can look up upcoming ex-dividend dates on this website; the app itself tracks payment dates.

The record date is when the company checks its books to see who owns the shares and is therefore entitled to the dividend. It usually falls one business day after the ex-dividend date. For investors, the ex-dividend date is the one to act on.

The declaration date is when a company announces an upcoming dividend, including the amount and the key dates. It comes first in the sequence, before the ex-dividend, record, and payment dates.

It varies by company, but the payment date is commonly a few weeks after the ex-dividend date. OnlyDividends shows the specific payment date for each holding once it is known, and projects it ahead of time otherwise.

Yes. OnlyDividends never connects to a brokerage or bank. You add holdings with a ticker and share count, and the app projects the payment dates and amounts from public dividend data.

Yes. The free plan tracks the payments for up to 3 stocks. Premium raises the limit to 50 stocks for about $6.99 per month or $49.99 per year.