The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is a great place to earn passive income because you don’t need to pay any tax whenever you earn a dividend. This can help significantly elevate your returns, especially over long periods of time.
You can build a solid, diversified dividend portfolio in your TFSA with $20,000. In fact, with that amount of cash you could earn $861.19 per year in steady growing passive income. Here’s a model portfolio that could help get you there.
| COMPANY | RECENT PRICE | NUMBER OF SHARES | DIVIDEND | TOTAL PAYOUT | FREQUENCY |
| Pembina Pipeline | $47.28 | 105 | 0.6675 | $70.09 | Quarterly |
| Royal Bank of Canada | $135.26 | 36 | $1.38 | $49.68 | Quarterly |
| Granite REIT | $75.75 | 66 | $0.275 | $18.15 | Monthly |
| Enghouse Systems | $31.57 | 158 | $0.26 | $41.08 | Quarterly |
Source: Getty Images
A TFSA infrastructure stock
Pembina Pipeline (TSX: PPL) is a good TFSA stock if you just want to earn an elevated dividend and don’t mind modest capital returns. It operates one of the largest energy infrastructure networks in Western Canada.
Its diverse mix of assets and services is crucial for Canadian energy companies to get their products to market. Over 85% of its earnings are on long-term contracts, and this income stream largely funds its attractive 5.65% dividend.
The company has one of the best balance sheets in the infrastructure industry, so it is well-positioned to invest in growth opportunities in the coming years.
Pembina pays a $0.6675 quarterly dividend. $5,000 invested in Pembina stock would earn $70.09 quarterly, or $280.35 annualized.
A bank for steady passive-income investors
Royal Bank of Canada (TSX: RY) is another rock solid dividend stock for a TFSA. There is a reason Royal Bank is persistently considered the highest valued company in Canada.
It is a leader in personal and commercial banking across Canada. Likewise, it has a strong, diverse business that spans across the U.S. and internationally.
Royal Bank has grown its dividend per share by a 9% compounded annual rate over the past 20 years. The bank has a strong balance sheet, a leading capital ratio, mid-teens return on equity, and attractive mid-single-digit earnings-per-share growth.
This is not the cheapest bank, but it is one of the best. It has a yield of 4.1% today. A $5,000 investment in Royal Bank would earn $49.68 quarterly, or $198.72 of passive income annually.
A top long-term real estate stock for a TFSA
Another TFSA stock for passive income is Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: GRT.UN). It operates a premium portfolio of logistics, distribution, and warehouse properties in Canada, the U.S., and Europe.
These are infrastructure-like assets that help foster commerce around the world. It has an average lease term of six years and 95% occupancy (that should improve through 2024).
Granite’s long-term assets are supported by a resilient, low-debt balance sheet. This has helped Granite deliver 13 years of consecutive dividend growth.
It yields 4.4% today. Invest $5,000 of TFSA cash in Granite stock, and you would earn $18.15 monthly or $217.80 of passive income annually.
A software play for passive income
A final stock for a TFSA passive-income portfolio is Enghouse Systems (TSX: ENGH). It operates a mix of communication and asset management software businesses around the world. These are not the most exciting areas of technology. However, Enghouse can generate a considerable amount of cash from its companies.
It is sitting with a huge $240 million cash balance ready to deploy into acquisitions. Likewise, it has increased its dividend per share by a 17% compounded annual rate over the past decade (as well as paying a large special dividend).
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Enghouse stock yields 3.3%. A $5,000 investment in Enghouse would earn $41.08 quarterly or $164.32 for the year.
