Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

Compensation was paid to utilize rankings. Click here to read full disclosure.

  • Home
  • Your Survival
    • Special Report: FOOD SHORTAGE: Crazed Hoarding Is Not Preparing
    • Your Survival Guy’s Super States
      • 2023
      • 2022
      • 2021
    • Constitutional Carry
    • EMP Threat
    • Tucker Explains
    • Newport Gas Outage
    • Water
      • Emergency Water Storage
      • Let There Be Water
    • Get Your Gun and Your Training Now
    • Satellite Phones
    • Navy SEAL Survival Kit
  • Your Money
    • Coronavirus Infects Stock Market
    • Looking for a Better America
    • You Invest, They Win
    • Where to Keep Your Cash
    • Paris
    • How to Buy a Boat
    • Dead or Alive? The Future of Long-Term Investing
    • Is Vanguard too Big?
    • Cryptocosm and Life After Google
    • The Last Intelligence Report
    • The Truth Behind the S&P 500
    • RAGE Gauge
    • How Many “Retirees” Will Keep Working?
    • Your Retirement Life
    • You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life
  • Weapons
    • Self Defense
    • Every Family Should Own at Least One Shotgun: Here Are Three
  • About Me
    • Your Survival Guy: “Life on Main Street Hasn’t Been This Hard in a While”
    • Preparing for Times Like These
    • My Videos/Pics
    • Music
      • RIP Neil Peart: You Will Always Be Remembered as a “Modern-Day Warrior”
    • Your Survival Guy: Make Your Bed and The Hero Code
  • You
    • Our Cabin on Kodiak, Alaska
    • If You Are in Pain, this May Help. It Helped Me.
    • How to Save for a Grandchild
    • FIRE! Financial Independence, Retire Early
    • Compound Interest
    • Arithmetic of Portfolio Losses
    • Maximum Portfolio Withdrawal Rate
    • An Efficient Frontier
    • Retirement Compounders
    • Counterbalanced Total Returns
  • Survive & Thrive
    • August 2023: Time Is Money: Are You Over 40?
    • July 2023: When Should You Take Social Security?
    • June 2023: Your Survival Guy in Rome 30-Years A.B. (After Babson)
    • May 2023: “I’m Having Major Surgery Tomorrow,” He Said
    • April 2023: Will the Black Swan Usher in Digital Dollars?
    • March 2023: How Long Have You Been in the Investment Business?
    • February 2023: 4 Life Changing Words: “You Should Try This”
    • January 2023: Stacking Wood and Compounding Money
    • December 2022: Your Survival Guy Prefers Bombardier’s Global Express 7500
    • November 2022: Arriving in Style at Le Bristol Hotel, Paris
    • October 2022: Sink Your Teeth into These Bond Yields
    • September 2022: Do You Have the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
    • August 2022: “Watch This Boat off Our Stern,” My Dad Said “He’s Coming in HOT”
    • July 2022: MONEY TALKS: Your Survival Guy’s Best Service in Paris
    • June 2022: “I’ve Been with Richard Young for Over 30 Years Now”
    • May 2022: Survive “If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail”
    • April 2022: Dream On! Fishing the Double Down in Key West
    • March 2022: Your Survival Guy Hears the Craziest Investing Stories
    • February 2022: Your Survival Guy’s 2022 Super States
    • January 2022: The Least Affordable Housing Market in the U.S.
    • December 2021: Listen Your Survival Guy is not “Mr. Peanut”
    • November 2021: Joe Biden is Weaponizing Your 401(k) Against You
    • October 2021: Time to Get Your Lazy Cash Off the Couch
    • September 2021: What’s Your Survival Guy Investing in Right Now?
    • August 2021: To Where Will You Flee?
    • July 2021: This Bubble’s Popped Baby
    • June 2021: Your Survival Guy’s Summer Job, Inflation & You
    • May 2021: You’re Telling Me Friends Ask You This Question
    • April 2021: Is There One Best Place in America for ‘Liberty Retirees?’
    • March 2021: America’s Growth Corridors
    • February 2021: Troops in D.C. & Your Authoritarian Virtual Panopticon
    • January 2021: Are You Ready for The Great Reset?
    • December 2020: Disaster Prep in Our Newport Bunker and Your Survival
    • November 2020: Election 2020 Edition: Stock Market is Predicting a Trump Win
    • October 2020: You Invest They Win, AGAIN
    • September 2020: Proud to be an American: Pro-Trump Parade Turns Rhode Island Red
    • August 2020: The Clock is Ticking: You Must Protect Your Family
    • July 2020: What Will Her Life Be Like Now?
    • June 2020: Your Survival Guy’s Home (and Money) Protection Plan
    • May 2020: Future Look at Covid-20, or the Next Deadly Virus
    • April 2020: Only Trump Saw the Risk in America’s Relationship with China
    • March 2020: Coronavirus Infects Stock Market
    • February 2020: Escape the City: Live Small, Cheap, and Safe in America
    • January 2020: Is Your Cash Safe? Probably not This Safe
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • Welcome

Warning: Avoid Mutual Fund Year End Distributions

December 23, 2019 By E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

By fewerton @ Shutterstock.com

UPDATE: The end of the year is a great time to review your mutual fund year-end distributions. You should try to avoid them if possible. If you haven’t done so already, read through Fidelity’s primer on Mutual Funds and Taxes below. 

Life Comes at You Fast. Slow It Down with My Friday Email. It’s Free.

You don’t need to worry about year-end distributions with individual stocks. But with mutual funds, you absolutely need to worry. It’s why at Young Research we favor individual stocks in both our Retirement Compounders investment strategy. Here’s a primer on year-end distributions courtesy of Fidelity. Pay particular attention to tax strategies for mutual funds, or avoid it altogether by owning stocks.

Fidelity writes:

Mutual Funds and Taxes

Distributions from mutual funds occur for several different reasons and are subject to differing tax rates. Many mutual funds bundle most of their payouts into single, net distributions at the end of each year.

Whenever a mutual fund company passes earnings and other payouts to shareholders, it’s known as a distribution. The major distribution for most funds comes at the end of each year, when net amounts are calculated—capital gains and other earnings minus the expenses of running the funds.

It’s up to you to report mutual fund transactions on your tax return, as well as pay the appropriate taxes on each type of fund income.

Distributions and your taxes

If you hold shares in a taxable account, you are required to pay taxes on mutual fund distributions, whether the distributions are paid out in cash or reinvested in additional shares. The funds report distributions to shareholders on IRS Form 1099-DIV after the end of each calendar year.

For any time during the year you bought or sold shares in a mutual fund, you must report the transaction on your tax return and pay tax on any gains and dividends. Additionally, as an owner of the shares in the fund, you must report and potentially pay taxes on transactions conducted by the fund, that is, whenever the fund sells securities.

If you move between mutual funds at the same company, it may not feel like you received your money back and then reinvested it; however, the transactions are treated like any other sales and purchases, and so you must report them and pay taxes on any gains.

For federal tax purposes, ordinary income is generally taxed at higher rates than qualified dividends and long-term capital gains. The chart below illustrates how each type of mutual fund income is taxed.

Type of distribution Definition Federal income tax treatment
Long-term capital gains Net gains from the sale of shares held for more than one year; may include some distributions received from investments held by the fund Subject to the capital gains rates, usually lower than the ordinary income tax rates
Short-term capital gains Net gains from the sale of shares held for one year or less May be treated as ordinary dividends, thus taxable at ordinary income tax rates
Qualified dividends Dividends from common stock of domestic corporations and qualifying foreign corporations Normally taxed as long-term capital gains (subject to certain holding period and hedging restrictions)
Ordinary or non-qualified dividends Investment income earned by the fund from interest and non-qualified dividends minus expenses; often used as a blanket term that includes all taxable income except long-term capital gains. Taxable at ordinary income tax rates
Tax-exempt interest Some or all interest on certain bonds, usually state or local municipal bonds, designated as tax-exempt Not taxable for federal tax purposes; may be subject to state and/or local taxes, depending on your resident state and the type of bonds purchased
Taxable interest Interest on fixed-income securities Taxable at ordinary income tax rates
Federal interest Interest on federal debt instruments Taxable at ordinary federal income tax rates, but exempt from state income tax
Required distributions Non-investment income required to be distributed by the fund (such as foreign currency gains that are taxed as ordinary income when distributed) Taxed as ordinary income
Return of capital A portion of your invested principal returned to you Not taxable

When there is no distribution

If a mutual fund does not have any capital gains, dividends, or other payouts, no distribution may occur. There may also be a non-taxable distribution. Shareholders will not be required to pay taxes if the fund has not made a taxable distribution, and shareholders will not receive a Form 1099-DIV for that fund.

When distributions are paid

Each fund’s prospectus outlines its distribution policy. A summary of policies for Fidelity-issued funds is below.

Type(s) of funds Type of distributions When paid
Equity and bond funds Capital gains After fiscal year-end and at calendar year-end
Money market and most bond funds Income dividends Monthly
Growth and income funds Income dividends Quarterly
Growth funds Income dividends After fiscal year-end and at calendar year-end

Some fixed income funds that distribute investment income daily may be required to distribute additional income at the end of December. This income usually consists of amounts earned in addition to regular interest income, such as market discount and dividends.

Tax strategies for mutual funds

1. Consider the timing of fund purchases and sales relative to distributions

Year-end fund distributions apply to all shareholders equally, so if you buy shares in a fund just before the distribution occurs, you’ll have to pay tax on any gains incurred from shares throughout the entire year, well before you owned the shares. This could have a significant tax impact.

Selling a fund prior to the distribution will generally result in more capital gain or less loss than if you sell the shares after the distribution, if you only take into account market price changes reflecting the distribution. Selling shares after the distribution usually will yield less gain or more loss.

If you are considering a purchase or sale around the time of a distribution, there are many other factors to consider, including the size of the dividend relative to the size of your expected investment and how the transaction may fit in your overall tax strategy. Consult a tax or other advisor regarding your specific situation.

2. Consider the fund’s turnover rate

Since a capital gain must be reported each time a purchase or sale of shares is made, funds that trade securities in and out very frequently may be apt to accumulate more taxable gains. Additionally, trading fees associated with this activity may also increase costs, cutting into net earnings.

Fidelity offers Index Funds, which tend to have lower turnover than actively managed funds. You can also use the Fund Evaluator in Mutual Funds Research and include turnover as a factor in your search criteria (located in the advanced criteria under Fund Management).

Again, taxes are only one of many factors you should consider when choosing a mutual fund. Consult a tax or other advisor regarding your specific situation.

Originally posted November 9, 2018.

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

Latest posts by E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy (see all)

  • Investing Habits of the Fairly Wealthy: #10 Powerball - September 29, 2023
  • Your Survival Guy: “Life on Main Street Hasn’t Been This Hard in a While” - September 29, 2023
  • Your Retirement Life: Striped Bass Fishing off Block Island - September 29, 2023
  • “Then One Day the Grandfather was Gone” - September 28, 2023
  • How Joe Biden Raised Oil Prices - September 28, 2023

If you enjoyed this post, email it to a friend:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp

Related Posts

Recent Posts from YourSurvivalGuy.com

Investing Habits of the Fairly Wealthy: #10 Powerball

Your Survival Guy knows a lot about highly successful, fairly wealthy people because I talk to them. On the flip side, I know plenty about those who’ve won and lost a fortune. I know about the guy who can’t hold onto his money. He just spends every penny, afraid it might be gone tomorrow. And […]

Your Survival Guy: “Life on Main Street Hasn’t Been This Hard in a While”

Are you up to speed with Your Survival Guy? Do you check in daily at www.yoursurvivalguy.com? I’m E.J. Smith, Your Survival Guy. I created www.yoursurvivalguy.com to give Main Street Americans a boots-on-the-ground look at how to protect their most valued assets from natural and manmade disasters. Life Comes at You Fast. Slow It Down with […]

Your Retirement Life: Striped Bass Fishing off Block Island

Your Survival Guy received these shots of striped bass fishing off Block Island. Life Comes at You Fast. Slow It Down with My Friday Email. It’s Free. Originally posted June 8, 2022.

“Then One Day the Grandfather was Gone”

Your Survival Guy has a client whose grandfather left him some money. That was nice. But the real gift was how his grandfather would teach him about money when they were together. How to roll pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters sitting on the floor and talking. Adding up the pile and feeling the weight in […]

How Joe Biden Raised Oil Prices

You saw Joe Biden demonize fracking and the oil industry throughout his campaign until the debates when Donald Trump cornered him on it, at which point he denied it all. Then, once he moved into the White House, Biden began his war on oil and helped to drive up prices on everything Americans need. At […]

Is the Philadelphia Looting Spree the Wake-up Call America Needs?

Crime has ravaged businesses across America since 2020, when radical politicians gave looters the green light to turn America into a warzone. Since then, the nation has watched with horror as roving gangs have cleaned out popular locations like Nordstroms and Apple Stores and even little gas stations. For two days now, America has watched […]

“No Way I’m Spending That Much on Those”

Your Survival Guy and Gal were in Boston this weekend, visiting our daughter and son. If you want to know what stagflation feels like, have two kids in college at the same time. Many of you know exactly what I’m talking about. Take, for instance, after breakfast, strolling down Newbury Street window shopping. The next […]

What Trade Policy Serves America’s National Interest Best?

In The American Conservative, Micah Meadowcroft examines the words of one of Your Survival Guy’s favorite presidents, “Silent Cal” Coolidge, who is known for saying, “The business of America is business,” but who actually said, “After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing […]

California Wants to Make the 2nd Amendment Unaffordable

California, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is doubling the tax it demands from law-abiding gun owners on sales of ammunition and guns. It appears Newsom and the California legislature have settled on a strategy of simply pricing the poor out of their Constitutional rights as enumerated in the Second Amendment. Adam Beam reports for the […]

“You Didn’t Eat That Again, Did You?”

As Your Survival Guy, I understand the immense pressure you’re under to “do something.” Everyone’s got a plan of what to do with your money. I know this not because you tell me what they’re telling you, but just from experience. I know, for example, when you’re asking me, “Why are we holding this position?” […]

Is McCarthy Up to the Task?

What’s wrong with a line-by-line approach to the budget? Here, Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) explains to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo why he can’t support McCarthy’s approach to running the House of Representatives. The way to fund the government is not by doing it the same way Congress has since the mid-90s, where it’s one […]

Rising Costs Are Hammering Commercial Real Estate

The commercial real estate market is getting hammered by rising costs. Not only are higher interest rates scaring away potential buyers, but high insurance costs are also killing demand. Konrad Putzier reports in The Wall Street Journal: Commercial property owners, already struggling with high interest rates and rising vacancies, face exploding insurance costs that keep […]

Your Survival Guy Fishing with Dolphins

Your Survival Guy was fishing this summer and came into these pods of bottlenose dolphins. You can see some of the famed Newport mansions in the background. Best viewed on a mobile device. Life Comes at You Fast. Slow It Down with My Friday Email. It’s Free. 

Judge Shatters California High Capacity Magazine Ban

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez shattered the state’s ban on high-capacity magazines, calling it unconstitutional. The ruling could set up a Supreme Court decision on the matter, potentially affecting similar bans throughout the country. Jonathan Stempel reports for Reuters: A federal judge in California on Friday declared that state’s ban on magazines that hold more […]

Is Your Water Safe to Drink? NOLA Residents Aren’t Sure

Residents of New Orleans are wondering whether or not they’ll have safe water to drink as forecasts for the Mississippi River levels decline, and the threat of a saltwater intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico becomes a reality. Nadine El-Bawab reports for ABC7, writing: New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has signed an emergency declaration over […]

Money 101

Trending

  • Wellington and Wellesley Funds Not Managed by Vanguard
  • “Then One Day the Grandfather was Gone”
  • 2ND AMENDMENT ALERT: Biden to Create New Anti-Gun Office
  • Don’t Ask Me When to Haul Your Boat
  • Investing Habits of the Fairly Wealthy: #10 Powerball
  • The Folly of Windmills from Nowhere USA
  • Remembering Jimmy Buffett: The Oldest Surfer on the Beach
  • “You Didn’t Eat That Again, Did You?”
  • NYC Rolling Out the Robocops
  • Is McCarthy Up to the Task?

Must Reads

  • Survival: Lost in the Woods Bending the Map
  • HELLO: “How’s It Going? I Don’t Know Anything”
  • BLOCKBUSTER SPEECH: Congressman Defends the Second Amendment
  • BLACKROCK’S BITCOIN-ESG PARADOX: You Can’t Have It All
  • Your Survival Guy’s Fishing Stories: From Key West to Newport
  • What Kind of Life Are You Investing For?
  • BIDEN-FLATION: Here’s Why Prices Are Up At Your Favorite Restaurant
  • Hey, Where’s Everyone Going? Follow the Money Kid
  • When Is the Best Time for You to Do This?
  • Your Job as an Investor Is Not What You Think

Recent Posts

  • Investing Habits of the Fairly Wealthy: #10 Powerball
  • Your Survival Guy: “Life on Main Street Hasn’t Been This Hard in a While”
  • Your Retirement Life: Striped Bass Fishing off Block Island
  • “Then One Day the Grandfather was Gone”
  • How Joe Biden Raised Oil Prices
  • Is the Philadelphia Looting Spree the Wake-up Call America Needs?
  • “No Way I’m Spending That Much on Those”
  • What Trade Policy Serves America’s National Interest Best?
  • California Wants to Make the 2nd Amendment Unaffordable
  • “You Didn’t Eat That Again, Did You?”
Only if You’re Serious
Only if You’re Serious
Only if You’re Serious
Crazed Hoarding Is not Preparing
How to Save Rainwater Effectively
Your Survival Guy in Paris
Key West Insider Guide
Your Survival Guy's Fishing Stories
Financial Independence, Retire Early
Money 101
Pandemic Creates Virtual Panopticon
Emergency Water Storage
Find Freedom in America
Second Amendment
How Can You Save Money for Your Grandchild
Great Reset
See Who's Missing the Boat
Richard  Young Reports
How You Can Save Money for Your Grandchild
Why Fidelity is Number One
The Best States for Survival
You Invest, They Win
Escape the City
Why Vanguard is Too Big for YOU
Island Life

Copyright © 2023 | Terms & Conditions

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.