Declaring Dividends

By Samatha Ferguson

Dividends are payments from shares, unit and investment trusts, which, investors hope, are not only regular (usually twice a year) but also rise over time to reflect the companys (or trusts) growing fortunes. Dividends are taxable as income.

The good news is tax on UK share dividends is deducted before you get it. If you are a basic rate taxpayer, you dont have to do anything else. Nontaxpayers and ten per cent taxpayers dont need to do anything either. But theres bad news here: You cant reclaim the deducted tax under any circumstances. Even though its called a tax credit by HMRC, we refer to it as a deduction to save confusion.

Top-rate taxpayers have to declare dividends on their self-assessment form and have the cash ready to pay the gap between the 40 per cent rate and the tax deducted.

Whether you get income from unit trusts, investment trusts, or individual shares, look at the date the dividend was declared and ignore the period for which the dividend applied. A 10p a share dividend for the year ending 31 December 2006 declared on 1 May 2007 and paid on 1 June 2007 counts as part of your 2007 " 08 return, not the 2006"07 calculation.

If you invest for long-term growth in shares that pay low or no dividends, youll pay less income tax. But dont forget these shares tend to be riskier. And you can get hit for capital gains tax on your profits.

Dont forget if you are near the top of the basic rate ladder " earning around $36,000 a year " your dividends can push you into the top tax bracket. For instance, if you earn $36,500 and have $3,500 of dividends youll be over the $39,825 (in 2007"08) basic rate tax limit for a person aged under 65.

Dividends from stocks traded in foreign markets can be tough to deal with. You may have to convert dividend payments into sterling as well as account for them separately.

You need to fill out the foreign income pages of the self assessment form. The UK has double taxation agreements with most foreign countries. The effect of these agreements is to cap the tax due on foreign-sourced income so you are no worse off as a result of possibly being taxed twice.

Many stock market companies have schemes by which shareholders can opt to receive new shares to the value of their dividends rather a dividend cheque. Even if you choose this option, you still have to declare the value of the new shares and any balance carried forward in cash because it is not large enough to buy a share. Youre liable for tax on re-invested dividends in just the same way as a cash dividend. - 23167

About the Author:

Learn How to Invest Today from the basics to advance. Find financial freedom from debit and other money worries by learn how to invest and learning to control your money.

Online Stock Trades Secrets

By Anne Durrell

With a reputable online broker, online stock trades are available to anyone. There are a few things you need to know before you get started because the stakes can be high and you can lose a lot if you are not careful.

The first rule for online stock trades is: never invest money that you cannot afford to lose. That means do not use funds that you need this month or next to pay bills.

Investing is really much safer if you plan it for the long term. Even when there is recession, you will not lose unless you're selling.

In many cases the companies and market you have bought stocks from will recover over time, and this will do if you can afford to leave your investments alone.

Many investors become in trouble when they see the market drop and they panic and start selling. When many investors start selling, then more and more investors are drawn into the panic and start selling too.

If you know you are buying for the long run then you will not be tempted to panic when everyone else does. In fact, if you are smart, that is exactly when you will be thinking about buying.

Online stock trades, on the other hand, are almost entirely automated which means that the fees are considerably lower. This means you can make more profit on each deal.

With online stock trades, you can start slowly and invest over time, so that when the market is going crazy, like falling through the floor, you will not have just put all your investment money into it. So it's a good way to get started.

As a matter of fact, if you were waiting to invest and have some more cash on hand, you will be happy since you can buy stocks at a big discount.

That is what makes many investors love online stock trades. - 23167

About the Author:

Her name is Anne Durrell. She comes from California. She has written extensively on online trading . You may want to check out her other guide on australian stock market tips, and stock trading course guide!

Low Interest Rates Hurt Those With Money

By Stacy Tran

For the last two years, money market and CD rates have been steadily falling. No matter where you look you are not going to find anything very high right now. For retirees who rely on interest income, this is a trying time. Retired people who are older have Social Security and many of them also need the income that comes from interest on their savings. With interest rates so low, this interest income has dwindled and put many retirees in a bind.

There is really no safe place for anyone to put their money and get a reasonable rate of return. Older people need to have their savings in something safer than the stock market because they might need the money at any time and they cannot afford the risk that comes with the stock market. It is true that they might not have to worry about losing a job like many folks do, but their income has taken a big hit too.

CD and government bond interest rates are usually going to be higher than those of money market accounts. This is because the money you put in a money market account is not locked up like it is with a CD. Interest rates can depend somewhat on the time frame you agree to loan the money and with most money market accounts, you can make periodic withdrawals and you can take all of it out at any time. This means you get a lower interest rate than something like a CD where you agree to leave the money in for a predetermined length of time.

People use money market accounts in conjunction with stock portfolios as a place to park their money that is not invested in stocks. If you are one of the lucky ones that has money to invest, right now you will not be finding rates that give you much in return. No matter how long you search the Internet, you will not find rate that are anywhere near what they were 3 or 4 years ago.

If you want to take a little risk you can try something called social lending. With social lending, you are lending money to another person rather than a banking institution. You do this through the Internet and you will get a much better rate of return, usually upwards of 6%. There is more risk though, as there must be, because the person could default on the loan. It is worth looking into though, if you are willing to accept the added risk to get a better rate. - 23167

About the Author:

Are you interested in learning more about CD interest rates? If so, please visit my website Best Money Market Interest Rates.

What to look for in a forex trading course?

By John Templeton

If you are thinking about purchasing a forex trading course, you definitely have a seemingly infinite amount of choices to pick from. The are tons of courses from every particular kind of trader. It doesnt matter if you like to scalp the market, and buy or sell several times a day, or are a more long term position trader.

I am one of those people who believe that before you make the decision of purchasing the course online, you just need to ask yourself "what am I really going to learn if I purchase this?" Am I just going to learn the same generic information that everybody else teaches or will I have a deeper understanding of what makes the market tick, should I purchase this course.

I think youll find that the problem at the present time is that most forex trading courses arent very good at explaining the underlying reasons why price movements act the way that they do. In fact most courses only give you the generic piece of advice and tell you to blast your charts with indicators.

I cant even begin to tell you what is so wrong with doing this.

Let's start with the obvious, shall we? Every single indicator is lagging by nature. What this means, if you are not sure, is that you are trading off of information that has already happened. Does that make any sense?

Also, not to be blunt, but what in the world are these indicators actually telling you? Look at the stochastics indicator. With this indicator, you are supposed to know whether the market is overbought or oversold.

My question to you is that do you honestly think that most traders have the slightest idea what it would mean for a currency to be either overbought or oversold? I highly doubt it! What most traders see in a stochastics indicator is just a bunch of random and arbitrary colors and lines.

All of this goes to the original question I asked in this article. What is it that you are learning? - 23167

About the Author:

If you want to know more about a forex course, then you definitely want to check out making money trading forex.

Take Credit? Accepting Credit Cards Is A Must

By Amy D. Perry

When owning a small company one must be careful on how they conduct business. With bank foreclosures, competitive markets, and even going bankrupt many small business owners must employ any tactic they can to keep their business from going under. One such method is obtaining a merchant account from a bank. Every small business should take full advantage of credit card processing.

To obtain a merchant account for your small business you must first, contact your local bank. Some banks will not give merchant accounts to small businesses depending on how much money they make or the size of their revenue. If your business is small or run out of your home you must contact a third party provider. These companies can get you a merchant account at similar rates and prices.

If you are being considered for a merchant account a bank will send out a representative to wherever you conduct your business. They need to authenticate your office, (home or otherwise). They will report on your work station and have a part in the decision making process.

You may have to submit paperwork to a company considering giving you a merchant account as well. This is to verify that are you are real business making a profit or losing money. The bank will want a copy of your tax return from the previous year as well as complete access to your bank account to deposit or withdraw funds from your account.

Most banks will charge 2-3% tax on all transactions. You are basically paying them to let you accept bank cards. While this may seem unorthodox remember they are providing you with a service as well. Also be careful with some companies. They may want to charge you a higher tax on your transactions. Dont be suckered in to paying a 5% tax. Keep your options open and always have more than one company to choose from.

After obtaining a merchant account you will be able to take full advantage of credit card processing. Now you can receive various forms of payment for your service or business. A customer is very likely to pay for an item with a debit card rather than with cash. Online banking has made electronic money storage very simple and has almost made the need for carrying cash obsolete.

Businesses can actually lose customers if they dont have a merchant account. Sometimes when a person doesnt have cash they will simply refuse to take out money and pay for an item. It is not rare for a person to walk out of a business when learning they only accept cash. To be on the cutting edge small businesses must be able to receive all forms of payment.

There is no reason to not start a merchant account with your local bank. Your company will thrive with all the customers you are acquiring with the new technology. Guaranteeing youll stay in business for a long time. - 23167

About the Author:

Amy D. Perry wrote this article to inform the small business owner of the advantages to Credit Card Processing as well as Online Credit Card Processing get both services at the best rates on the internet only at americardpayment.com