Option income ETFs all promise monthly or weekly cash, but they get there in very different ways. Some sell calls on the whole portfolio, some on half, some trade same-day options or credit spreads, and a few add leverage. Fees, domicile and tax differ too, which matters a lot if you invest from Singapore.

This tool puts 48 of them in one place. Filter by underlying, strategy and domicile, add up to three funds to compare side by side, then check the Singapore tax view before you decide. Every figure comes from the fund issuer and shows its date and a link to the source.

How covered calls work

A covered call fund owns shares (or tracks an index) and sells someone else the right to buy them at a set price. The buyer pays a premium up front, and that premium is the main source of the fund’s distributions.

The trade-off is the upside. If the market jumps past the strike price, the fund has to give up the gains above it. In falling markets the premium cushions the loss a little, but it doesn’t stop it. That’s why these funds tend to lag in strong bull runs and recover more slowly after a sell-off.

Not every fund here works the same way. Partial overwrite funds sell calls on only part of the portfolio to keep more upside. Same-day (0DTE) funds sell new options every trading day. Credit spread funds buy one call and sell another, which limits the cost of a big move but makes payouts depend heavily on short-term option prices. Leveraged funds add borrowed or synthetic exposure, so losses grow as fast as gains.

Distribution rate vs total return

The distribution rate tells you how much cash a fund is paying, usually the latest payout annualised and divided by the price or NAV. It doesn’t tell you whether you’re getting richer.

Total return does. It adds the price change to the distributions paid. A fund can pay 30% a year in cash while its NAV falls, leaving you with less wealth than you started with, even though plenty of cash landed in your account.

That’s why the finder shows both, and why the compare view puts total return first. Look for funds where the 1-year and 3-year total returns hold up next to the payout. A rate tagged “High payout risk” is the latest payout annualised at 20% or more, which is rarely sustainable without eating into NAV.

US vs Ireland domicile and tax

Singapore doesn’t have an income tax treaty with the US, so the ordinary dividend part of a payout from a US-domiciled fund is generally subject to 30% US withholding tax. Many option income ETFs class most of their payouts as return of capital, which isn’t a dividend, so the real rate depends on each fund’s breakdown and on your broker. The tax view uses the issuer’s published estimate where there is one, and shows a range where there isn’t.

Ireland-domiciled (UCITS) funds work differently. The US taxes the dividends the fund receives at 15% under the US–Ireland treaty, inside the fund, and the fund then pays you without US withholding. That is lower, but it isn’t zero.

There’s also US estate tax. Non-residents with more than USD 60,000 of US-situs assets, which includes shares of US-domiciled ETFs, may have an estate tax filing requirement. Ireland-domiciled funds are generally not treated as US-situs assets. The tax view above lets you plug in an amount and see the estimate for the funds you’ve selected.

Return of capital

Some or all of a distribution can be classed as return of capital (ROC). In plain terms, part of your own money is being handed back to you.

ROC isn’t automatically bad. With options income it can be a tax classification rather than a sign of trouble, and US funds publish estimated sources of their payouts in Section 19a-1 notices when a payout isn’t all income. But a high ROC share combined with a falling NAV usually means the payout is bigger than what the fund is really earning.

Where an issuer publishes a ROC estimate, it appears in the compare view with its date and source. Treat it as an estimate: the final split only arrives with the year-end tax forms.

Related reading

• My option income ETFs: October 2026
• QQQI vs JEPQ
• GPIX vs VOO
• Which S&P 500 ETF to buy
• BTCI since I bought it
• IWMI since I bought it
• IAUI since I bought it
• MLPI since I bought it
• CSPX since I bought it
• How I’m building my income portfolio in Singapore
• Free income tracker

Risks to keep in mind

• Capped upside: selling calls gives away gains above the strike price.
• NAV erosion: high payouts can shrink the fund’s value over time, especially after sharp falls.
• Leverage and daily reset: leveraged funds can lose value quickly, and daily-reset funds can drift from the multiple over longer periods.
• High return of capital: a large ROC share can mean the payout is running ahead of what the fund earns.
• New funds: many of these funds are young, so there is little track record through a full market cycle.
• Distributions are not guaranteed and can change or stop at any time.

Information only, not financial advice. Past performance is not a guide to the future. Tax figures are estimates for illustration; check your own situation with a qualified adviser.