If passive income is what you're after, then ASX dividend shares are for you.
These are essentially shares in ASX-listed companies that pay a portion of their profits to shareholders on an annual, twice yearly, or even a monthly basis. And sometimes these are even enhanced by tax-saving partially or fully-franked credits.
The good news is that there is a huge range of options available.
The hard part is finding the ASX shares with the dividend yield that you want.
Here are four ASX shares that pay a dividend yield of 8% or more.
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Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX)
Atlas Arteria owns, operates, and develops five toll roads in France, Germany, and the United States. The company's main asset is an estimated 31% stake in Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhone, or APRR, which owns concessions to toll more than 2,300 kilometres of motorways in eastern France. The company also wholly owns the Dulles Greenway toll road in the US state of Virginia.
Toll road operators are a classically defensive asset and a great choice for passive income investors. The nature of their business, the fact that they operate essential infrastructure, often under long-term contracts, means they can usually generate a strong and stable income.
Atlas Arteria consistently pays its shareholders 40 cents per unit, unfranked every year – one 20-cent payment in April, and another in October. At the time of writing, this translates to a dividend yield of around 9%.
Metrics Master Income Trust (ASX: MXT)
The Metrics Master Income Trust is a listed investment trust (LIT). Rather than investing into one stock, the trust has a portfolio of corporate loans and private credit investments, which is an increasingly popular asset class for income-focused investors.
The trust said it targets a return of the Reserve Bank cash rate plus 3.25% per annum through the economic cycle. This is net of around 7.60% per annum fees.
What's more, its distributions are paid monthly, and there is also a distribution reinvestment plan (DRP) to allow its investors to reinvest their monthly income distributions if they want.
The trust most recently paid a 1.46-cent dividend to shareholders earlier this month, unfranked. The latest dividend means that the fund has paid 12 dividends to investors over the past 12 months, totalling 15.8 cents per share. At the time of writing, this gives the trust a dividend yield of approximately 9%.
IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH)
IPH is an intellectual property (IP) services provider that owns a group of patented and trademarked firms. It's a great option for passive income investors because IP protection is a legal necessity. This means the company can generate consistent revenue, all without requiring any physical capital.
The company has a long history of paying two partially-franked dividends per year to its shareholders since 2016. And these have increased every year since 2017.
IPH's most recent dividend of 19.5 cents was paid to shareholders today (22nd of September), with 30% franking. That totals a 39-cent total dividend for FY26. This translates to an 11.5% dividend yield at the time of writing.
WAM Capital Ltd (ASX: WAM)
WAM is another LIC, but one that focuses on giving its shareholders exposure to an actively managed diversified portfolio of undervalued ASX-listed growth companies, specifically small-to-medium-sized businesses.
The LIC aims to give its investors a stream of fully-franked dividends, while also providing capital growth and preserving capital.
This company has paid out a 7.75-cent dividend twice a year, dating back to 2020. The next 7.75-cent payment, with 60% franking, will be paid to investors next month. Giving the ASX dividend shares around a 12.6% yield at the time of writing.
But you'll need to get in quick. As part of WAM's FY26 results announcement, the company reported a 10.5% decline in its investment portfolio. As a result, WAM announced it will be cutting its dividend to 8 cents per share in total in FY27 to "preserve capital".
