What is Income Tax Payable?
Income Tax Payable is an account on a company’s ledger where they reserve amounts that will be used to pay the tax liability in the current quarter or year. This account tends to be separate from payroll taxes and sales taxes. This account will typically be empty at the end of the fiscal year. Corporations must pay income taxes based on their gross income, and the funds to pay them are held in the Income Tax Payable account on their company ledger. Continue reading...
What is Adjusted Cost Basis?
Adjusted Cost Basis (ABC) is the value of an item for tax purposes, adjusted for depreciation and expenditures. Sometimes abbreviated ABC, adjusted cost basis is the valuation of an item for tax purposes; that is, if it is to be bought or sold, what gains or losses would be assigned to it? Some business assets are depreciated on a set schedule, such as equipment. For equipment sold or taken as part of an acquisition a few years after it was purchased, the depreciation factor would reduce the value of the item for tax purposes by perhaps as much as 20% per year. If a company spent significant amounts of money improving a facility, the cost basis of the facility would go up by that amount. Continue reading...
What is a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)?
Much like a Reverse Mortgage or Second Mortgage, a HELOC gives homeowners the ability to convert their home equity into cash. A HELOC is a line of credit secured by the equity in your home. Homeowners can choose when to use the funds, and there are repayments due according to a schedule in the contract. It functions as a revolving line of credit, similar to a credit card with large limits. Some people find themselves interested in a HELOC if they have a large balloon payment due on a loan, perhaps even their home mortgage loan. They are also sometimes used as a debt consolidation tool to pay off credit cards and other outstanding debts (but, for this, fixed-rate home equity loans are more popular). Continue reading...
Is my portfolio diversified enough?
Diversification is intended to reduce the volatility of price movements in individual securities, but many people are not sure what proper diversification looks like. It depends. You should definitely have exposure to at least two asset classes: equities and bonds. Within each asset class, diversification is also important. In your equity portfolio, you should have exposure to stocks with various capitalizations (such as Large Cap, Mid Cap, and Small Cap), various geographical areas (such as the Europe), Developing Markets, and Emerging Markets. Continue reading...
What are asset classes?
Asset classes are types of appreciable investments that can be grouped and distinguished from one another based on the correlation of their price movements and the structure of their cash flows. Some of the most common asset classes are stocks, bonds, cash (and cash equivalents), commodities, and real estate. Many individual securities and sub-classes will fall into each of these. Asset classes are a large consideration when creating a well-diversified portfolio. Continue reading...
What is a protective put?
A protective put is an option contract that hedges against losses in a long stock position, by allowing the investor to sell the underlying security at a specific price. Sometime investors will seek to limit possible losses in a stock that they hold by purchasing a put option at a price below the current market price. This allows the investor to sell their stock at a set price if it takes a dive for any reason. Let’s assume that you have 100 shares of company ABC, which is trading at $100/share. Continue reading...
What does delta mean?
Delta is a ratio which measures the degree of correlation between changes in price for the underlying security and changes in the price of the option. Put another way, Delta indicates the amount of price change in a derivative by comparing changes between asset and derivative prices. Delta is a multiple that applies to options positions; it, along with Gamma, Theta, and Vega, helps options investors calculate risk and potential return for an investment. Delta can quickly tell an options investor how much the price of their option will change per share relative to the price change in the underlying security. Delta is represented by a number between 1 and -1, with a negative Delta value sometimes written in accounting notation, like: (1). Continue reading...
What is Ex-Date?
The Ex-Date is for a stock indicates the last date of the month where a dividend is payable. It is two days before the record date. If an investor buys a stock before the ex-date, they are entitled to the dividend that the stock is scheduled to pay that month. If the investor buys on or after the ex-date, then they will not receive the dividend payment for that month - the seller does. When checking Google Finance or a newspaper for a stock quote, the ex-date is typically marked with a lowercase “x.” Continue reading...
Where Can I Get Help With My 401(k) Investments?
Not every plan will have an advisor ready to give you personalized attention, but some do. For those that don’t, there are plenty of resources out there. There are countless sources out there, all offering “the best” information about how to manage your 401(k) investments, but very few offer a smart, logical, and practical approach. Most of the time, the advice you get will tell you to diversify among various asset classes, but will never give you specific allocations. It is simply essential to actively monitor your investments and take the reins of your financial future. Continue reading...
What is IRS Publication 535, Business Expenses?
IRS Link to Publication — Found Here Businesses can refer to Pub. 535 to get a better grasp on what expenses can help lower their corporate tax bill. Many of the costs required to do business can be deducted or depreciated. The guide addresses employee compensation, inventory, research and development, and much more. Many of the expenses that could fall into the category of “overhead” can be deducted by a business. Continue reading...