Personal Investing

All banks provide several types of accounts that are used for retirement. Most earn interest, and some have tax advantages.

Tax lien certificates give a second party a legal claim to your property as collateral or payment for a tax debt. Tax lien certificates are often sold at auctions. Investors are interested in...

With job losses on the rise and belts getting tightened, it's hardly surprising that more and more homeowners are struggling to pay their local, state and federal taxes. And the result? An...

Properties with tax liens are sold regularly throughout the United States. Rules vary by jurisdiction, but a lien generally is filed when a homeowner does not pay property taxes. Government...

Ways to make money and invest even when the market is down

If you sell shares of a mutual fund, you are required to pay income taxes on any profit, or you can take a tax deduction if you sold at a loss. Your gain or loss can be calculated by subtracting...

Annuities are investment and income products offered by insurance companies. They are used to save for retirement and provide a stable income during retirement. The tax code gives special tax...

City and county governments around the country depend on property tax revenues to operate their government. Schools, fire departments, city officials and even police departments get their funding...

A 529 plan is a college savings plan that allows your money to grow tax free for a beneficiary such as a child or grandchild. Withdrawals are also tax free, as long as the money goes toward...

Thanks to their great tax advantages and ease of use, 529 plans have become the preferred way to save for college. While there is no federal income tax deduction for contributions to a 529 plan,...

For many people a Roth IRA has advantages over traditional IRAs and other retirement accounts because it offers different tax benefits. It's important to have a basic understanding of the rules to...

A wash sale is not something you want to enter into. "Wash sale" is a term referring to the results of either intentionally trying to cheat the tax system or inadvertently losing certain...

A stock option is the opportunity to buy or sell a stock at a predetermined price within a specified time frame. Employee stock options are given to certain employees by corporations as part of...

Opening a foreign bank account either for yourself or your company is not difficult, but must follow several steps required by the laws of the United States or the foreign country in order to...

Investors are required to pay taxes on capital gains when they sell a stock and on the dividends they receive. Although there is not a way to eliminate the taxes altogether, there are ways to...

The 529 college plan was introduced as a way for to save money for college while reaping tax benefits. The plan can be set up by anyone for anyone and is flexible as to how it is spent -- as long...

Many companies provide 401K retirement plans to employees using a “Plan Document”. This document is the guide that authorizes the employers to allow contributions, distributions and investments in...

A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan that allows you to stash money for future college expenses for yourself or a family member.

The big question on everyone's mind after filing income taxes: What should you do with the money you get back as a refund? A lot of people spend it on treats for themselves, or just put it away in...

Want to find alternative high yield investments? With the capital markets in turmoil these days, many financial experts are recommending that individual investors place a significant portion of...

Across the country, local governments have outstanding tax bills that aren't being paid by property owners. When governments need operational funds for local fire and police departments, court...

The most popular and successful type of trust fund for saving for college is a 529 Plan. This plan allows you to set aside money for your children's future education and the investment grows in...

If you want to save money on medical expenses, consider the benefits of a health savings account (HSA). If you qualify, you may contribute to a plan that not only pays for certain health care...

The recognition of investment losses is straightforward in its application. Proper record keeping makes the separation of financial gains, losses and dividends qualifying for long- and short-term...

Investors in stocks make money when the price goes up or the company pays a dividend to its shareholders. Dividends are cash payments for each share of stock owned. You also have the option of...

Annuities can provide additional tax-deferred growth opportunities to help supplement your retirement savings. Annuities offer no income restrictions on contribution eligibility and there is no...

The return on many investments such as certificates of deposit (CDs) and bonds is often called the yield. Basically the yield is just the annual percentage return you get on the money invested,...

A tax lien mortgage note is a lien placed on a piece of property by a county because the owner of the property has failed to pay property taxes for an amount of time prescribed by county law. Each...

Buying a house with proceeds from exercising stock options is often a good move. By bringing in the extra cash from a stock option exercise to escrow, monthly mortgage payments can be...

Although your indexed annuity is invested in the stock market via an index fund, you enjoy only a percentage of the growth of that particular index. This is because most annuities don't have a 100...

Many investors seek ways to efficiently transfer their wealth to their heirs while they are still alive. This article shows you how you can purchase stocks for your grandchildren.

Every year, counties levy property taxes on land and houses. When a property owner does not pay his property taxes, the county government still needs the tax funds to support basic infrastructure...

The word "investment" can trigger many images---property, stocks, education, business, manufacturing, people, community---but almost always involves the foundation of money and time. Knowing how...

Don't invest in a Roth IRA and Traditional IRA during the same tax year, although it is possible, it is usually not the best plan. This is because each type of account serves a different...

A 1099 form needs to be filed with the IRS by anyone who has been compensated for a job where they were not an employee of the company. Report income from a 1099 to the IRS every tax season with...

Calculate salary after taxes by determining your tax bracket and multiplying that number by your salary. The amount left over from that calculation is your salary after taxes. Determine the tax...

Losses cannot be deducted on a 529 plan because the money invested in a 529 is tax deferred, so there is no option for deducting losses. Find out how the tax deferral status of 529 plans is a huge...

Working with the IRS Schedule D you will be expected to report your capital gains and losses on your Individual taxes. For many people the losses out-weighed the gains this year. How this is...

To reward key employees for either current or future performance, a company may give them shares of that company in the form of restricted stock. The company has the right to say when the...

You purchase an immediate annuity from an insurance company with a certain amount of money (a single premium). You may begin to collect regular income on your investment in approximately thirty...

Investors often look to tax liens as a way to make high interest on a relatively safe investment. Local governments need property tax revenues to pay expenses, and if property owners fail to pay...

529 plans are controlled by individual states who hire management companies to run them. The 529 plan can either be a prepaid tuition plan, in which you lock in future tuition at today's rates, or...

To invest money and make money you must choose financial products carefully to suit your risk tolerance and time horizon. It is impossible to predict whether financial markets will go up or down...

One way to buy stock in a child's name is to use a custodial account. This is an account opened by an adult in a child's name using the child's social security number. The account is controlled...

A 529 plan is a type of investment account in the United States. This type of plan is popular among individual investors because it offers significant tax savings when the included investments are...

Foreign bank accounts are often used for holding foreign currency, reducing tax exposure, facilitating international transactions and to secure funds from creditors. It can be relatively easy to...

A tax-sheltered investment account is a retirement account--such as a 401k, 403b, IRA, or Roth IRA--in which your investments grow tax-free or tax-deferred until you start making withdrawals when...

Arizona is a tax lien state. What that means is if property owners do not pay their property tax an investor can pay the tax, and then receive up to 16% interest on their investment. If the...

Are you fighting this tough market and stuck with some bummer stocks? Here is how to benefit from those losses and reduce your tax liabilities.

Business owners with up to 100 employees may set up a Simple IRA Plan to help provide retirement benefits for their employees. A Simple IRA account is opened for each employee and the employee is...