What Is Tax-Loss Harvesting?

Key Takeaways Definition and Example of Tax-Loss Harvesting Tax-loss harvesting can be valuable to an individual who invests in taxable brokerage accounts, as a means of either reducing or eliminating capital gains or reducing ordinary taxable income. The strategy isn’t appropriate for tax-deferred accounts like 401(k) or IRA accounts, because the original investment and earnings … Read more

What Is Current Cash Value?

Definition and Example of Actual Cash Value Actual cash value (ACV) is how an insurance company measures a property’s worth at a given moment in time. It accounts for depreciation. You may come across the term if you make a car insurance claim, or a claim on your homeowner’s policy. Some policies use replacement cost … Read more

What It Means for a Stock to Be Overweight

If you’ve ever read a report from an investment analyst, you may have seen stocks described as “overweight.” It can be a confusing term. Most people are used to seeing more simple “buy” or “sell” ratings. If an analyst rates a stock as “overweight,” they think that the stock will perform well in the future. … Read more

What Is a Stock Market Quote?

Key Takeaways A stock quote shows the current price of a stock based on recent activity on its exchange. It also includes a wide range of additional information to help investors judge a stock’s profit potential. Depending on where you are getting your stock quotes, prices could be delayed, which could affect your trades. Definition … Read more

What Are Fungible Investments?

Key Takeaways Fungible investments can be bought and sold on different exchanges. Fungible trading works when you can buy/sell on one exchange, and sell/buy on another exchange, netting your share position to zero and earning a profit. Opportunities to profit from price differences are known as arbitrage, and they come and go quickly as the … Read more

What Is Elder Law?

Key Takeaways Elder law is a field of law that focuses on legal issues that affect older individuals. Major areas of elder law include disability and special-needs planning, long-term care planning, estate planning and settlement, guardianship or conservatorship, and elder abuse. Elder law attorneys can be found through the NAELA. Definition and Example Elder Law … Read more

Alternatives to a Home Equity Loan

A home equity loan, or second mortgage, allows you to withdraw the equity you’ve built up in your home so you can use the cash to make repairs to your home, pay for college tuition, or consolidate your debt, for example. You repay the money over time through a series of regular payments. Home equity … Read more

What Is an Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain?

Key Takeaways A higher unrecaptured Section 1250 tax rate applies to long-term capital gains for which a taxpayer has previously claimed depreciation. The IRC requires that claimed depreciation must be factored back in to arrive at an adjusted cost basis for calculating the amount of a capital gain. The Section 1250 rate is usually 20%, … Read more

Terri Huggins – The Balance

Highlights More than 10 years of experience as a journalist covering topics like personal finance, parents, and mental health Former marketing and communications professional at a real estate company Host of local workshops discussing financial and contractual advice for freelance professionals Has writing expertise focused on the intersection of personal finance, race, and culture experience … Read more

Peter Lauria – The Balance

Highlights Has more than 20 years of experience as a business writer and editor, covering everything form the business of media to high-level economics Former editor in charge of technology, media, and telecom at Thomson Reuters You have managed, built, and led teams at some of the world’s largest corporations and media organizations, including New … Read more