An additional amount of deductible depreciation that is awarded above and beyond what would normally be available. Bonus depreciation is always taken right away, in the first year that the depreciable item is placed in service. This type of incentive is offered either as an additional incentive or as a measure of relief for small businesses that want to buy additional equipment. The actual amount of bonus depreciation varies from year to year, but it is offered on top of the maximum allowable Section 179 expensing limits and standard first-year depreciation. Bonus depreciation cannot be taken on property that is required to use the Alternative Depreciation Schedule, but it is exempt from alternative minimum tax (AMT) adjustments. Bonus depreciation is classified as a Section 1245 depreciation deduction when disposing of an asset, and is subject to recapture as ordinary income.
An indicator frequently used in technical analysis showing the average value of a security's price over a set period. Moving averages are generally used to measure momentum and define areas of possible support and resistance. |||Moving averages are used to emphasize the direction of a trend and to smooth out price and volume fluctuations, or "noise", that can confuse interpretation. Typically, upward momentum is confirmed when a short-term average (e.g.15-day) crosses above a longer-term average (e.g. 50-day). Downward momentum is confirmed when a short-term average crosses below a long-term average.
A type of recommendation to buy an asset once the price is able to surpass an influential level of resistance. A move above resistance is used as a buy signal because an increase in upward momentum often follows the breakout. Buying a break is a strategy often used by traders who incorporate the use of chart patterns, trendlines and other technical indicators into their trading. Taobiz explains Buy Break For example, suppose a stock appears to have met resistance at the $50 price level for the last year. Many traders will watch the price movement around $50 very closely because a break above the resistance would suggest that a likely surge higher will follow. Technical traders use a break above resistance to signal a good opportunity to buy because a resulting surge of upward momentum commonly follows.
Any resident of a foreign country that meets the IRS criteria for the bona fide residence test. This test classifies any person that lives in any foreign country for the entire tax year as a Bona Fide Foreign Resident. Anyone falling into this category is eligible for the foreign earned income exclusion. Bona Fide Foreign Residents must be either U.S. citizens living abroad or resident aliens of a country with which the U.S. has a valid tax treaty. Bona Fide Foreign Residence status is not automatically accorded merely by living in a foreign country for one year. A clearly-defined permanent residence must be established in the foreign country before this status can be accorded. However, the taxpayer's domicile, or permanent home must be in the U.S., to which the taxpayer eventually intends to return.
A state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and essentials to enjoy a minimum standard of life and well-being that's considered acceptable in society. Poverty status in the United States is assigned to people that do not meet a certain threshold level set by the Department of Health and Human Services. Poverty rates in the United Sates, the percentage of U.S. population with poverty status, are calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Census, and precludes institutionalized people, people living in military quarters, those living in college dormitories and individuals under the age of 15. Poverty rates are an important statistic to follow as a global investor, as a high poverty rate is often indicative of larger scale issues within the country in question.
A taxpayer who qualifies for the additional standard deduction amount accorded to blind persons. Blind taxpayers are eligible to have their standard deductions increased by the same amount as taxpayers over age 65. Age and blindness are determined as of the end of the calendar year. The increased deduction for blindness is granted regardless of age. The dollar amount of the increase is the same for both partially and totally blind taxpayers. Partially blind taxpayers must include a letter from their doctor stating that they cannot see better than 20/200 out of their better eye even with eyeglasses or contacts, or that their field of vision is limited to 20 degrees or less. If this letter states that the taxpayer's vision will never improve, then no further letters need be sent, and only a referral to this initial letter will need to be included with future tax returns. Otherwise a new letter must be submitted each year.
A type of asset-backed security that is secured by a mortgage or collection of mortgages. These securities must also be grouped in one of the top two ratings as determined by a accredited credit rating agency, and usually pay periodic payments that are similar to coupon payments. Furthermore, the mortgage must have originated from a regulated and authorized financial institution.Also known as a "mortgage-related security" or a "mortgage pass through". Watch: Mortgage-Backed Securities |||When you invest in a mortgage-backed security you are essentially lending money to a home buyer or business. An MBS is a way for a smaller regional bank to lend mortgages to its customers without having to worry about whether the customers have the assets to cover the loan. Instead, the bank acts as a middleman between the home buyer and the investment markets. This type of security is also commonly used to redirect the interest and principal payments from the pool of mortgages to shareholders. These payments can be further broken down into different classes of securities, depending on the riskiness of different mortgages as they are classified under the MBS.
The portion of a stock or bond issue that investment bankers return to the underwriter so the portion can be sold to institutional investors. Depending upon the issue and the size of the pot, it may be very lucrative for the underwriter to sell inventory to institutional investors.