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Dividend investing

Dividend Reinvestment Plan DRIP

A program that automatically uses your cash dividends to buy more shares of the same stock.

Part of the Growth & Capital Returns course · Lesson 19 of 26

What it is

A Dividend Reinvestment Plan, or DRIP, takes the cash dividend you receive and immediately buys additional shares (including fractional shares) of the same company instead of paying you cash. DRIPs are offered either directly by companies or, more commonly today, by brokerages. Some company-run plans buy at a small discount to market price.

Why it matters

Reinvesting dividends compounds your position over time, since the new shares themselves pay dividends, and it removes the temptation to spend or mistime reinvesting. The tradeoff is that, in a taxable account, reinvested dividends are usually still taxed in the year received even though you got no cash.

How it's calculated

Not a formula. Each pay date, the plan divides your dividend by the reinvestment share price to determine how many (often fractional) shares to add to your holding automatically.

How Quintarthai uses it

DRIP execution happens at your broker, not on Quintarthai; to evaluate whether a payer is worth reinvesting in, study its dividend history and durability on the company deep-analysis page.

Cross-border note. Reinvested dividends still create taxable income and cost-basis tracking in both countries. In Canada, hold U.S.-paying stocks in an RRSP to avoid the 15% U.S. withholding tax on dividends; a TFSA does not exempt that withholding. A 'synthetic DRIP' at a broker buys only whole shares.

FAQ

Do I pay tax on dividends I reinvest through a DRIP?
In a taxable (non-registered) account, yes. Reinvested dividends are generally taxed in the year you receive them, just like cash dividends, and you must track the new shares' cost basis. Inside registered accounts (RRSP, TFSA, IRA, 401k) the usual account rules apply instead.
What is the difference between a full DRIP and a synthetic DRIP?
A full (company-run) DRIP can buy fractional shares and sometimes at a discount. A synthetic DRIP, run by a broker, typically reinvests only enough to buy whole shares and pays any leftover as cash.
Related terms
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