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How To Find Your Modified Adjusted Gross Income

June 14, 2019 by Jon

MAGIYour modified adjusted gross income or MAGI is used to determine your eligibility on a number of things.  This includes several credits and deductions, Medicare Plan B premiums, and is most known for determining IRA deduction and Roth IRA contribution eligibility.

So, it’s a pretty important number to have handy.  There’s just one problem.  It’s not the easiest number to figure out.

What is MAGI?

Modified Adjusted Gross Income is your adjusted gross income (AGI) plus a few specific deductions.  Since the number is entirely dependent on those deductions, it can change from year to year.

In order to find your modified adjusted gross income, you first need to find your adjusted gross income.

Find Your AGI

Your adjusted gross income is your total or gross income minus certain deductions, known as adjustments.  Whether you know it or not, you figure this number out each year when you do your taxes.   You can find it on: Continue Reading…

The Special Dividend Tax Rules

November 27, 2012 by Jon

Special DividendThere has been a flurry of special dividend announcements recently.  Many from companies that don’t normally pay a dividend.  Which shouldn’t be surprising really.  Which leaves shareholders with a nice end of the year dividend payment.  Of course, even special dividends are taxed.  But how is it viewed for tax purposed?

Regularly scheduled dividend payments are considered an earnings distribution.  Because of this the payments are viewed as ordinary income and taxed accordingly.  However, special dividends are not always viewed the same way.  Which complicates things.  Any tax implications will depend on how the company classifies the special dividend.

What Is A Special Dividend?

A special dividend is a one time dividend payment to shareholders outside of any regularly scheduled dividends, if there are any.  Companies usually declare a one time dividend because of very strong earnings or if there is an excessive amount of cash on the balance sheet.  But it can be issued for a number of other reasons too. Continue Reading…

Happy Hour: Happy Thanksgiving And Twinkies

November 23, 2012 by Jon

Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour!  Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.

Happy Thanksgiving

I’m a day late in the Thanksgiving wishes.  So Happy Black Friday.  I did find some interesting Thanksgiving Financial Trivia.  It seems Thanksgiving time is steeped in a history of debt and high interest rates.  The Pilgrims had to borrow to get here and at 30-70% rates.  Just something to think about while you’re waiting in line for all those special deals today.

Twinkies Bubble

We lost an icon recently when Hostess closed it’s doors for the last time.  The everlasting Twinkie and other Hostess brands were tasty treats of urban legend.  When the news broke, Twinkie prices spiked as customers feared losing the inside out pound cake.  There’s no need to worry though.    There are already suitors for the name brands and recipes.  Which still have value.  The rush on stores proved it.  You Twinkie addicts will get your snacktastic fix soon. Continue Reading…

What Is An ADR (American Depositary Receipt)?

November 20, 2012 by Jon

American Depositary ReceiptsThere are many ways to invest in foreign companies.  International funds are the most common.  But what about individual stocks?  An ADR is an easy way to buy foreign stocks through your broker.

Define ADR

American Depositary Receipt or ADR is a type of security that represents shares of a foreign company.  A U.S. depositary bank buys the foreign stock and issues ADRs in the U.S. market.  Each ADR represents one or more shares (or a fractional share) of a foreign stock and trades at a price equal to the foreign stock.

This process makes it easier for investors to gain access to foreign companies like:  BP, Toyota (TM), or Nokia (NOK).  Which are all American Depositary Receipts traded on the NYSE. Continue Reading…

Happy Hour: iPad Nano And Facebook Drama

November 16, 2012 by Jon

Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour!  Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.

iPad Nano

A look into the new iPad mini TV Ads show where Apple is heading.  Is Apple becoming too obvious.  What’s next for the iPad, iPad Mini, then iPad Nano?

In the past Apple used the software approach to its device upgrades.  Just add one or two big changes each year with minor tweaks (bug fixes), call it 2.0 or 3.0 and charge its customers full price for the new product.  Technology advances over the past decade made it easy as computer chips got smaller, hard drive memory grew and both got cheaper.  It was an easy sell.  The iPod evolution explains this concept well.  It also provided a hint of where Apple was heading.  First came iPod, then the iPod Mini, and finally the iPod Nano.

It may have worked for the iPod, but can you really call a smaller version of the iPad, innovative?  It hasn’t introduced any mind-blowing products or upgrades in a year.  Which was a regular occurrence in the past.  So, has the well run dry?  Or is the Apple TV its saving grace? Continue Reading…

What Is A Trailing Stop Order?

November 15, 2012 by Jon

Trailing Stop OrderOne of the hard parts of investing is knowing when to sell once you have a profit.  Another is selling too early and missing out on more profit.  And, of course, through all that, you still want to protect your profit so it doesn’t become a loss.  Which all sounds complicated, but a trailing stop order covers all of this and more.

Define Trailing Stop Order

A trailing stop order is just a stop order with a built-in trigger or trailing price.  Unlike a stop order that has a specific, fixed activation price, a trailing stop order has a moving activation price based on a stop parameter.  Once triggered, the trailing stop order becomes a market order and the stock is sold at the next best available price.  That stop parameter can be set one of two ways:

  • By Price –as a dollar amount.
  • By Percentage – as a percentage of the current price.

Please don’t confuse price with percent when placing an order.  There is a big difference between 10% and $10.  And can lead to lower profits or even a loss. Continue Reading…

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