How much do I need to invest in ASX shares for $20,000 a year in passive income?

Banking an extra $20,000 a year in passive income could make a big difference to your retirement lifestyle.

Below, we'll take a look at how to reach that goal with some top ASX dividend stocks.

Depending on how soon you can achieve that $20,000 annual passive income stream, it could see you opt to hang your hat up sooner than expected and retire early. Or maybe you'd prefer to reinvest those dividends as they come in and build a truly golden retirement nest egg.

We'll leave those decisions to you.

Three top ASX 200 dividend stocks to get started

When I'm looking for quality passive income stocks, I generally preference larger companies that trade on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). These companies tend to be less volatile than ASX small-cap stocks, and their dividend payouts tend to be more reliable.

I also preference companies with franked dividends for the tax benefits that can provide when the ATO comes knocking each year.

As always, remember that an ideal ASX passive income portfolio will hold more than just three stocks. There's no right number for everyone, but 10 is a decent target. Ideally these will operate in various sectors and locations. That will help lower the overall risk to your portfolio if a single company or sector hits a rough patch.

Also note that the yields you generally see quoted are trailing yields. Future yields may be higher or lower depending on a range of company specific and macroeconomic factors.

With that said, the first ASX 200 dividend share I'd buy for passive income is oil and gas giant Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS). Woodside shares currently trade on a fully franked dividend yield of 8.4%.

The second company I'd buy is ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ). The ASX 200 bank stock currently trades on a partly franked dividend yield of 5.7%.

And the third ASX 200 stock I'd put in my starter passive income portfolio is Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL), whose brands include Supercheap Auto, Rebel, BCF and Macpac. Super Retail shares currently trade on a fully franked dividend yield of 8.3%.

If I were to split my investments evenly across these three stocks, I could then expect to earn a dividend yield of 7.5%.

How much to invest for $20,000 in annual passive income?

How much you'll need to invest in ASX shares to earn $20,000 in dividends depends greatly on your investment horizon.

If you're looking to earn that much passive income in the year ahead, and not wanting to draw down on your capital investment, then based on the 7.5% average dividend yield from Woodside, Super Retail and ANZ shares, you'd need to invest $266,667 today.

But if you have some time to achieve that goal, you can take advantage of the magic of compounding and start out with a smaller investment today, then make regular investments when you can.

Now, if you reinvest your dividends as they come in, I think you can realistically achieve a 10% yearly accumulated gain on your income portfolio.

For example, the S&P/ASX 200 Gross Total Return Index (ASX: XJT), which includes all cash dividends reinvested on the ex-dividend date, has gained 76.8% over the last five years. That equates to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.2%. But as this period also incorporates some recovery months post the February 2020 pandemic market crash, we'll stick with 10% moving forward.

So, let's say you invest $10,000 today and then another $1,000 each month.

At a 10% CAGR this will see your ASX share portfolio reach $268,766 in 11 years.

At a 7.5% dividend yield, you can then sit back and watch an extra $20,158 a year in passive income land in your lap.