Yes, VXUS pays dividends. The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF distributes income from its roughly 8,700 non-U.S. holdings four times a year, with a trailing yield near 2.43% as of early 2026. The per-share amount changes each quarter, and because the income comes from foreign companies, the tax treatment differs from a domestic fund in ways worth understanding before you buy.
When VXUS Pays Dividends
VXUS distributes quarterly, with payments in March, June, September, and December. Each distribution has an ex-dividend date, a record date, and a payable date. You must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive the payment; buy on or after that date and the seller keeps it.1Investor.gov. Ex-Dividend Dates: When Are You Entitled to Stock and Cash Dividends
The payable date is when cash actually lands in your brokerage account, usually a few business days after the record date. For 2025, the four payable dates were March 25, June 24, September 23, and December 23.2Vanguard Advisors. VXUS – Vanguard Total International Stock ETF The first 2026 distribution was paid on March 24, 2026, at $0.19 per share. Upcoming dates are posted on Vanguard’s fund page and in most brokerage dividend calendars.
How Much VXUS Pays Per Share
VXUS does not pay a fixed amount. The per-share payout depends on what the underlying companies distribute and how currency exchange rates translate those payments into U.S. dollars. In 2025, total distributions were approximately $2.40 per share, up from about $1.98 in 2024.2Vanguard Advisors. VXUS – Vanguard Total International Stock ETF
The December quarter typically carries the largest payout by a wide margin. In December 2025, VXUS paid $1.36 per share, more than three times the March 2025 payment of $0.19. Many international companies, especially in Europe, pay their dividends in spring and summer, and those payments flow through to VXUS shareholders later in the year.2Vanguard Advisors. VXUS – Vanguard Total International Stock ETF
Looking at the fund’s income return by NAV shows the range year to year: 2.55% in 2022, 3.80% in 2023, 3.42% in 2024, and 4.33% in 2025.3Vanguard. Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) Profile Those swings reflect both changing corporate payouts abroad and the strength of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies. A stronger dollar shrinks the value of foreign payments; a weaker dollar boosts them.
Fund costs come out before dividends reach you. VXUS charges 0.05% annually, or about $5 a year per $10,000 invested.3Vanguard. Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) Profile The fund has historically not made capital gains distributions; payouts have been dividend income only, which keeps tax reporting simpler.
How VXUS Dividends Are Taxed
In a taxable account, VXUS dividends fall into two buckets: qualified dividends and ordinary (nonqualified) dividends. The label matters because the rates are very different.4Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 404, Dividends and Other Corporate Distributions
Qualified dividends are taxed at the long-term capital gains rates of 0%, 15%, or 20%, depending on your taxable income. To qualify, you must hold the VXUS shares for more than 60 days during the 121-day period beginning 60 days before the ex-dividend date.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1 – Tax Imposed Dividends that fail the holding-period test, or that come from companies in countries without a qualifying U.S. tax treaty, are taxed as ordinary income at rates up to 37%.
Not all VXUS dividends qualify. For 2025, Vanguard reported that about 58.5% of the fund’s distributions counted as qualified dividend income; the other 41.5% was taxed at ordinary rates.6Vanguard. Qualified Dividend Income – Year-End Figures The split varies year to year with the mix of countries generating the income.
Higher-income investors owe an additional 3.8% net investment income tax on dividends if modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly).7Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 559, Net Investment Income Tax Those thresholds are not indexed to inflation. The surtax sits on top of the regular qualified or ordinary dividend rate.
The Foreign Tax Credit
Because VXUS holds foreign stocks, the countries where those companies are based withhold taxes on dividends before the money reaches the fund. Treaty rates vary, but withholding commonly runs from 10% to 30%.8Internal Revenue Service. Tax Treaty Tables Without relief, the same income would be taxed twice, once abroad and once by the IRS.
The Foreign Tax Credit lets you subtract those foreign taxes directly from your U.S. tax bill, which is more valuable than a deduction. Your brokerage reports the pass-through foreign taxes on Form 1099-DIV, Box 7.9Internal Revenue Service. Form 1099-DIV
If your total creditable foreign taxes across all investments come to $300 or less ($600 if married filing jointly), you can skip Form 1116 and claim the credit directly on Schedule 3 of Form 1040.10Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Tax Credit Workout The simplified path requires that all your foreign income be passive (dividends and interest) and reported on a 1099 or Schedule K-1. Above those thresholds, you file Form 1116, which caps the credit at the share of your U.S. tax liability tied to foreign-source income.11Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1116 Foreign Tax Credit Unused credit can be carried back one year or forward up to ten.
What Happens in a Roth IRA or 401(k)
Holding VXUS in a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or 401(k) removes the annual tax on dividends. It also removes the Foreign Tax Credit. The credit is available only when you are subject to U.S. tax on the same income, and income inside a retirement account is either deferred or tax-free.12Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Tax Credit Foreign governments still withhold on the dividends before they reach the fund, but you have no way to recover that withholding.
That trade-off is specific to international funds. In a taxable account, you pay U.S. tax on VXUS dividends each year but recoup most of the foreign withholding through the credit. In a Roth, the dividends grow tax-free, but the foreign withholding is a permanent drag with no offset. Some investors keep international funds in taxable accounts for that reason and use retirement accounts for domestic holdings.
Reinvesting VXUS Dividends
Most brokerages let you choose how to receive VXUS dividends:
- Cash, deposited into your settlement balance to withdraw or redirect.
- DRIP, where the dividend automatically buys more VXUS shares, including fractional shares, usually with no commission.
DRIP is common for long-term holders because it compounds the position without manual trades. You set the preference once in your brokerage account, and it applies to future distributions.
One tax trap is worth knowing. If you sell VXUS at a loss to harvest a tax deduction, a reinvested dividend can void it. The wash sale rule disallows a loss when you acquire a substantially identical security within 30 days before or after the sale.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1091 – Loss From Wash Sales of Stock or Securities A DRIP purchase inside that 61-day window counts as an acquisition and can disallow all or part of the loss. The disallowed loss is added to the cost basis of the new shares rather than lost outright, but if you plan to harvest losses from VXUS, switch to cash distributions or turn off DRIP before you sell.