Families in the highest income tax bracket pay a 37% tax rate on regular income and only a 20% tax rate on dividends. Qualified Dividends? There are only three qualified dividend tax rates depending on your income tax bracket, keeping it very simple. Nonqualified DividendsAll other dividends are nonqualified dividends or ordinary dividends. You must pay taxes on dividends, but how do you tell if your dividends are qualified or nonqualified?