Comments for TU-Online

Comment on Is credit card interest tax deductible if you put the money on the credit card towards investments? by Steve

Steve — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:10:03 +0000

The $20 gain on the sale of the stock would be taxed as a capital gain. The $10 in credit card interest would be deductible on schedule A as “investment interest expense”. You must itemize to take advantage of the “investment interest expense” deduction. If you don’t sell the stock, you can still take the $10 deduction. However, you must have investment income from other sources of at least $10 or the deduction will be limited and carried forward until you have investment income (investment interest is only deductible to the extent of investment income earned).

Please note that investment income does NOT include qualified dividends or capital gains (i.e. gains taxed at 15%). However, you can elect to treat dividends and capital gains as investment income (which allows you to take the investment interest expense deduction now). However, if you do so, you lose the benefits of the 15% rates and that income is taxed at ordinary rates.

Please let me know if you need any clarification.

Comment on Is credit card interest tax deductible if you put the money on the credit card towards investments? by STEVEN F

STEVEN F — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:33:13 +0000

spicertax is correct about the ‘tracing rule’. As others have said, if you use the same card for ANY other purpose, you may have trouble tracing the interest to the investments. Personally, I recommend NOT using a credit card to finance investments, but that is a separate issue.

Comment on Investments? by xxcsai

xxcsai — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:11:18 +0000

try fundraising online

Comment on What is/are the best investments for teenagers? by Edward C

Edward C — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:01:01 +0000

Here are your best answer

Comment on Investments? by A nobody

A nobody — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:01:34 +0000

At the age of 15 you really should be looking at stocks, but since your not familar with the market why not just open a mutual fund account

Many young people such as you could look into the mutual funds or Exchange Traded Funds.

One purpose of mutual funds is to help investors like you, who are either just entering the investment world or who have no investing experience.
Once you feel you at least have an understanding of investments you should look into ETFs which are similar to mutual funds but are traded on the exchanges.
Mutual Fund companies as well as ETFs have an entire array of products many will fit your needs.

You can go to the MSN.Money website it has an entire section on mutual funds and Exchange Traded Funds. Read about the various products and in doing so you will be getting investment ideas and at the same time educating yourself about investing in general.

You could also contact the funds companies for more information. I have found that Vanguard & Fidelity can meet your needs for mutual funds. The service and information they provide is all free and you will find it helpful.

And remember, keeping you money in a bank or bank product is not investing. and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re too young to invest. I started at the age of 12 and have never once regretted it.

Comment on Investments? by Bioengr

Bioengr — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:26:04 +0000

A good stock market mutual fund with low cost structure is your best bet for the long term.

Comment on What is/are the best investments for teenagers? by Dr Jim

Dr Jim — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:07:55 +0000

Invest in Silver, often called “the poor man’s gold”. Silver used to be a monetary metal, and maybe some day it will be again. Back in 1980, gold sold for 850 and silver sold for 50. Then, one ounce of gold would buy 17 ounces of silver. Today with gold near 900, one ounce of gold will buy a whopping 55 ounces of silver. It seems to me that silver, in terms of gold, is “too cheap.” Silver will continue to be a great investment for at least a few more years because of these factors: (1) US Dollar is declining in value, (2) Fed continues to lower interest rates, (3) Inflation is rampant mainly due to the fact that the US Dollar is declining and other countries economies are growing rapidly, (4) Deficit is growing, (5) China and other countries want to diversify out of the US Dollar and into gold/silver, (5) the bull run in gold/silver has been strong for 5 years now and has yet to reach its final parabolic phase.

Silver has made about 40% annually since 2002, and will continue to make that much until nearly everyone has heard about it and feels confident about investing in it. The FINAL TOP is nearly in when you hear it on the nightly news almost daily or it appears as the cover story on Business Week, Newsweek, and/or Time Magazine. This usually goes with the theory that everyone that will buy in has bought in, therefore, what you are left with are mainly sellers. Until then, you will make very good money in Silver.

Silver is EXTREMELY easy to buy and sell. Just go to your local coin shop and ask for “silver bullion”. You want to buy 1oz or 10oz bars. Don’t mess with the old Peace or Morgan dollars because the buy/sell margins are higher, plus there is less demand for them from a coin dealers perspective. If you have a trading account, you can buy silver with ticker symbol “SLV”. The great thing about SLV is you don’t need to store it physically and you can trade it immediately.

Comment on Is credit card interest tax deductible if you put the money on the credit card towards investments? by spicertax

spicertax — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:01:21 +0000

Yes for all investments except your mortgage. To deduct mortgage interest the house has to be the collateral. For other investments a tracing rule applies. If you can prove that the loan proceeds was put into just taxable investments you can deduct the interest up to the amount of investment income earned.

Comment on Investments? by pretzel2222

pretzel2222 — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:17:57 +0000

Get a financial advisor—although most full service brokerage firms won’t talk to you if you have less than $100,000 to start.

Comment on Investments? by David M

David M — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:12:26 +0000

Try a high interest savings account like ING.