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- Pays: monthly — 287 dividends since September 2002, one of the longest records we chart.
- Trailing 12 months: $3.90 per share across 12 payments — up about 1% from $3.85 the year before.
- Where the money comes from: coupon interest on 20-to-30-year U.S. Treasury bonds. No options, no leverage, no return of capital by design.
- Fee: 0.15% expense ratio — a tenth of what most option-income funds charge.
- Yield context: the trailing payout is roughly 4.7% of the recent ~$83 share price.
TLT's income is the opposite of an option fund's: slow to change in either direction. Its dividend follows the average coupon of the bonds it holds, which turns over gradually as old bonds roll off — so payout changes take years, not weeks. The risk lives in the share price instead: 20+ year bonds are the most rate-sensitive mainstream asset there is.
Each point is one monthly TLT dividend since September 2002 — 287 of them. The slow multi-year waves track the interest-rate cycles the fund lived through.
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Each point is one payment; the line ends at the most recent payout. The table below totals them by year.
- Trailing 12 months: $3.89 per share across 12 payments — up 1% from $3.86 in the 12 months before. What a change like that does to your income →
- Current pace: recent payments annualize to $3.80 — 2% below the trailing figure. When those two disagree, the trailing yield is quoting the past. Live cut & raise board →
- Share price, same 12 months: down 13% (dividends excluded) — income and principal are one story. Erosion Index →
- Record: 289 payments over 24 years; the largest single payment was $0.473 (May 2003).
- Payment drops ≥20% below trend, last 24 months: none. Get one short email if that changes →
- Payment steadiness: the last 12 checks wobble ±3% around their median. Compare that against any fund →
Every figure above is computed from TLT's actual payment record and share-price history as of the date shown — not copied from a fact sheet. Recomputed regularly; the chart above always shows the live data.
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| Recent Ex-Dividend Dates | Dividend / Share |
|---|
"Next expected" is estimated from TLT's recent payment rhythm — the fund announces exact dates shortly before each payout, and the data feed can lag a few days. You must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive that payout; the cash typically arrives days later. See every fund's upcoming date on the live dividend calendar.
A real total-return estimate, assuming every payout was reinvested — including what happened to the share price. Before taxes and fees. Past performance does not predict the future.
People buy option-income funds for the payout and get share-price surprises. TLT is the mirror image: the dividend is among the most predictable we chart — $3.90 over the trailing year versus $3.85 the year before, a 1% move — but the share price swings like a growth stock whenever interest-rate expectations shift, because 20-to-30-year bonds are maximum duration. Holders aren't really betting on the income; they're betting on rates falling.
For income-first alternatives in the same "boring engine" family, see PFF (preferred shares) or SCYB (high-yield bonds) — or overlay TLT against any option fund on the compare tool to see just how different the two animals are.
| Year | Total Dividends / Share | Payments | Change vs Prior Year |
|---|
Data source: Yahoo Finance. Figures are per share; the current year may be partial and figures should be verified against official sources.
Calculated from complete calendar years in the data above. Past results don't guarantee future payments.
When Is TLT's Next Ex-Dividend Date?
TLT pays monthly — from Treasury coupon interest. The exact date of each payout is announced by the fund only shortly beforehand, so no site can promise the next date — but the live schedule box above shows the most recent ex-dividend date and the expected window for the next one, computed from TLT's actual payment rhythm. Remember: you must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive that payout.
The Longest Payment Record on the High-Yield Shelf
TLT has paid a monthly dividend since September 2002 — 287 consecutive months through August 2026, spanning the 2008 crisis, the zero-rate decade, and the 2022 rate shock. The engine is the simplest one on this site: hold 20-to-30-year U.S. Treasury bonds, pass the coupon interest through, charge 0.15%. There are no options, no leverage, and no return of capital in normal operation — the categories that dominate every other fund we chart simply don't apply here.
What the 24-Year Chart Actually Shows
The dividend line moves in slow waves: down through the 2010s as old high-coupon bonds matured into a zero-rate world, then back up after 2022 as new bonds arrived carrying modern coupons. The trailing twelve months paid $3.90 per share, up about 1% from $3.85 — against a recent share price near $83, roughly a 4.7% yield. The single largest monthly payment in the record, $0.473, dates to May 2003, when the portfolio still held bonds written in a very different rate era.
The Real Risk Is Duration, Not Default
Nobody doubts the coupons will arrive. The question TLT holders live with is what the shares are worth on the way — maximum-duration Treasuries are the most rate-sensitive mainstream asset, and the fund's price history includes multi-year drawdowns that would embarrass most stock funds. That's the honest frame: a quiet, near-guaranteed income stream stapled to a loud macro bet. The compare tool makes the contrast with any option-income fund immediate, and the calendar tracks its next ex-date alongside everything else.
Compare It Against Anything
Same chart, two tickers, one honest overlay — payouts and price erosion side by side.
Compare Any Two Funds