QQQI Covered-Call Income Calculator

What QQQI is, and who it fits

QQQI, the NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF, holds the Nasdaq-100 and sells index call options against it, then pays most of the collected premium back as a large monthly distribution — targeting current income of roughly 14% a year. Launched in early 2024 as the Nasdaq sibling of the S&P-focused SPYI, it is actively managed and has grown quickly to around $12 billion. The mechanics matter more here than on a broad S&P version: the Nasdaq-100 is a concentrated, tech- and growth-heavy index, so the written calls cap exactly the kind of explosive upside that made owning names like the mega-cap technology leaders worthwhile. QQQI trades that upside for cash today.

That framing tells you who it fits. QQQI suits an investor who wants a high monthly income stream from Nasdaq-style exposure without running their own options book — a retiree, or someone deliberately harvesting current cash flow. It fits poorly if your real goal is the largest possible balance in twenty years, because a capped-upside fund on a high-growth index will usually trail the plain QQQ over long horizons. This calculator is built to make that tension impossible to ignore: it models per-share distribution growth at zero rather than extrapolating a rich yield forward as though it compounded like a rising dividend.

The trade-off this calculator makes visible

A ~14% headline is not 14% of "free" income. Part of each QQQI distribution is return of capital — historically a large share — which means some months you are handed back a slice of your own principal rather than newly earned yield. Reinvesting that is not the same as reinvesting a growing 3% dividend from a quality-screened fund. The low / base / high scenario band exists precisely because index-option premium rises and falls with volatility, and a concentrated tech index can whipsaw hard. Toggle between Income and Value to watch the same trade-off from both the cash-flow and the balance side; the more you lean on the payout, the more the capped upside shows up as flatter long-run principal.

QQQI versus the other Nasdaq income funds

Not all "Nasdaq income" ETFs work the same way. QQQI and JEPQ both target Nasdaq-100 income, but JEPQ generates its payout through equity-linked notes and typically distributes a smaller, more variable amount, while QQQI writes index options directly and leans on return-of-capital treatment. The older QYLD writes at-the-money calls on the full index and has a long record of eroding NAV. Compared with its own S&P sibling SPYI, QQQI carries the same structure but on a more volatile, growth-tilted index — which usually means a higher headline yield and a wider range of outcomes. If steadily growing income is the goal instead, a dividend-growth fund like SCHD is a different tool entirely.

Tax and account placement to keep in mind

QQQI's Nasdaq-100 options are treated as Section 1256 contracts, taxed 60% long-term / 40% short-term regardless of holding period, and a large part of each distribution is often classified as return of capital, which defers tax and lowers your cost basis until you sell. That can make QQQI relatively tax-efficient in a taxable account — but return of capital is a deferral, not a gift: a lower basis means a larger eventual capital gain. The Account toggle above models this, and a Traditional IRA or Roth still compounds the distribution fully untaxed, so switch it to compare. This is general information, not tax advice; confirm your own situation with a qualified professional. All figures here are illustrative and dated as of 2026-06.

Compare with the other high-distribution income funds — JEPQ and SPYI run a similar covered-call trade-off — or with the underlying index via QQQ. To pressure-test living on the payout, use Live off dividends; to see after-tax DRIP with a distribution-cut stress overlay, use the Dividend snowball.