Investment Income

What Is Investment Income?

Investment Income is the income that is generated through dividends, payment of interest, and capital gains through the sale of any asset or security and profits made by any kind of investment vehicles like bonds, mutual funds, etc. Even income from interest on bank accounts, real estate or profits from sale of valuables fall in this catagory.

Generally, people earn a large quantity of their total income every year from their salary income but, properly planned savings and the investments in the financial markets can actually convert nominal savings into big portfolios of investment, which will surely yield that investor a good investment income over the time.

Investment Income Explained

This is an income that generates from interest, dividend, and capital gains. It is a good practice to keep investing in stocks, bonds or mutual funds, etc. people have at least a generation of income from these investments, which helps them in keeping up with their monetary needs or wants. Some investments help in tax saving also, which is an advantage to the common man. The chosen investments should be a wise choice that generates a wealthy return.

There are several types of investment incomes, out of which major ones include interest incomeInterest IncomeInterest Income is the amount of revenue generated by interest-yielding investments like certificates of deposit, savings accounts, or other investments & it is reported in the Company’s income statement. read more, capital gain, and investment income dividends, etc.

Investment incomes help in saving taxes as there are much tax-free or tax saving investment schemes that attract investors to invest as they save a lot of tax for people.

The investor will be able to face inflation. For example, if a person has invested his funds in fixed-income generation investment, his income is fixed from his assets. Therefore, when rates are so high during inflation, he will be earning the same income and can spend it appropriately.

There is no investment income that is suitable for all individuals. It always varies from person to person depending on the earnings and investments. Investments like municipal bonds help in saving taxes but then give a very low return. They are suitable for individuals for those who cannot afford to take risk but need a stable return. Investment in stocks have a good return potential but also come with a very high risk.

Types

There are several types of investment incomes out of which major ones are explained below:

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Source: Investment Income (wallstreetmojo.com)

#1 – Interest

A person will earn income as an interest in investments that generate interest in the deposition of funds into bonds, certificates of depositsCertificates Of DepositsA certificate of deposit (CD) is an investment instrument mostly issued by banks, requiring investors to lock in funds for a fixed term to earn high returns. CDs essentially require investors to set aside their savings and leave them untouched for a fixed period.read more, money market instrumentsMoney Market InstrumentsThe money market is a financial market wherein short-term assets and open-ended funds are traded between institutions and traders.read more, etc. earlier, the investors who are in need of some cash can withdraw money from their interest income without even disturbing the principal amount invested. But nowadays, the interest rates are very low hence;, it’s really difficult to expect the same return from dividend and interest on a consistent basis.

If a person utilizes the interest income either from cash, taxable bonds, or certificate of deposits, the same is taxed at the regular income tax rate. Additionally, if the investment is long-term, then that person is required to show the interest income earned in the income tax return even if you do not withdraw cash from that investment.

#2 – Dividends

DividendsDividendsDividends refer to the portion of business earnings paid to the shareholders as gratitude for investing in the company’s equity.read more are paid by the companies on the basis of their earnings to the shareholders or investors on a per-share basis of the stock. If the investment is in mutual fundsMutual FundsA mutual fund is a professionally managed investment product in which a pool of money from a group of investors is invested across assets such as equities, bonds, etcread more that have funds into dividend stocksDividend StocksA stock dividend refers to bonus shares paid to shareholders instead of cash. Companies resort to such dividends when there is a cash crunch. Shareholders are allotted a certain percentage of shareholding.read more, then the investor earns a share of that company through dividends on a yearly or quarterly basis.

The taxes are to be paid on investment income dividends as well, and the regular tax rate applies to these Ordinary dividends, whereas there are some dividends labeled as “qualified” are taxed at a capital gains rate that is generally lower.

#3 – Capital Gains

A rise in the asset’s value, like in an investment on real estate or stock, which is more than its purchase price then, that increased value is the capital gain, but the same is realized only when the underlying assetUnderlying AssetUnderlying assets are the actual financial assets on which the financial derivatives rely. Thus, any change in the value of a derivative reflects the price fluctuation of its underlying asset. Such assets comprise stocks, commodities, market indices, bonds, currencies and interest rates.read more is sold. The investor has to pay taxes on the capital gains according to the period of the gain, whether it is short term or long term capital gain. The long term holing of any investment is better than the short term as the tax rates are lower on long term capital gains.

Examples

The following are the different examples of investment income strategies:

#1 – Dividend

If an investor holds 100 shares in a corporate and that entity pays 50% of its earnings as dividends and says the earnings are Rs. 10 per share, therefore, the dividend amount is Rs. 5 per share, the investor, earns Rs. 500 per year i.e., 100 shares multiplied by Dividend Per ShareDividend Per ShareDividends per share are calculated by dividing the total amount of dividends paid out by the company over a year by the total number of average shares held.read more Rs. 5.

#2 – Capital Gain

An investor “A” invests an amount of Rs. 1000 to buy 20 shares of a company selling at par i.e., Rs. 50. Next year the price of that share rises to Rs. 70 per share and  “A” decides to sell ten shares from his stock; then, his capital gain will be Rs. 200 [ 10 shares @ Rs. 70/ share = 700 less original price 10 shares @ Rs. 50/ share = Rs. 500 ].

Taxes

All such incomes are not subject to taxes but most of them are when they are earned. The tax that will be charged depends on various factors like time period for which the investment has been held, what kind of investment it is, and the taxpayer’s financial condition.

Certain investments and the gains from them are exempted from tax. But the long term capital gains and income from dividends are taxed upto a maximum limit of 20%.

Such investment income strategies can be used alongside the income earned by individuals to reduce the total tax payable and offset the tax liability. Thus it is a method of getting tax credit.

Advantages

The various advantages related to the aggregate investment income are as follows:

• It helps in Building up Wealth – An investor will earn income over regular intervals, which he can further invest or reinvest in other or the same stock, property, or land.
• Investment Income has Retirement Benefits – If a person has invested in any mutual funds, stocks, FDs, etc. they earn interest and dividend over it, which a person can use or further invest. By further, they earn an interest rate on a compounding basisCompounding BasisCompounding is a method of investing in which the income generated by an investment is reinvested, and the new principal amount is increased by the amount of income reinvested. Depending on the time period of deposit, interest is added to the principal amount.read more, which will help them to have a great life post-retirement.
• It helps in Achieving other Financial Goals – Last but not the least, the investment income can be utilized in completing other financial goalsFinancial GoalsFinancial goals are targets set by an individual to achieve financial milestones or plans. In other words, they are financial objectives that an individual wishes to accomplish within a certain time frame.read more like saving this income for your child’s education, or nowadays there are EMI services for everything; therefore, the person can pay its installments through these extra incomes instead of their salary.

Disadvantages

The various disadvantages related to the aggregate investment income are as follows:

• Market Risk – The market is very fluctuating, and so the investor has no idea how much he will earn this year. Sometimes he can earn a good amount of income, and at times there can be a very low generation of income. It all depends on the market, and the investments are chosen by the investor, so he needs to think and then invest.
• Choice of Investment – An investor has to choose amongst a variety of investment income portfolio to make sure that he earns a nice amount of income. If he chooses an investment with fixed income generation, he will never get a high return if the market is high and vice versa, so the asset choice is very important.
• Application of Tax Rates – There are different tax rates on investment incomes. There are only a few investment incomes that are exempted from taxExempted From TaxTax-exempt refers to excluding an individual's or corporation's income, property or transaction from the tax liability imposed by the federal, local or state government. These exemptions either allow total relief from the taxes or provide reduced rates or charge tax on some items only.read more; otherwise, all incomes attract tax. Some attract tax when they cross the amount limit of the income, and some differences in rates like in the short term and long term capital gain.

Thus, the various disadvantages of and investment income portfolio are mentioned in the points given above.

Investment Income Vs Capital Gains

Let us look at some differences between investment income and capital gains.

• The former comes from making investments in sources that will provide interest, dividends, etc, but the latter is the gain from rise in investment value after purchasing it at a lower price.
• Capital gain is obtained from selling assets like bonds or stocks whereas income from investment comes by earning the interest or dividend while still remaining invested.
• The tax treatment is different for both of them. Capital gains tax will depend on whether it is for short or long term . in case of investment, interest is ordinary income and dividend may be qualified or ordinary.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to what is Investment Income. We explain its taxes with examples, differences with capital gains, types, advantages & disadvantages. You can learn more about investments from the following articles –

• Fixed Income Investment Definition
• Oil Investing
• International Investments
• Offshore Investments