An important law has been extended through 2009. Individuals age 70½ and older can still directly transfer up to $100,000 a year from an IRA to qualified charities without having to count those distributions as taxable income. Plus, the transfer still counts toward that person’s minimum distribution.

We also want to point out that you do not have to have the money in hand to donate for a 2008 write-off! You can charge your gift this year and it will still count. It doesn’t matter if you pay the bill in 2009. Similarly, a check mailed in 2008 counts for 2008.

Learn more about how to leverage your dividend investing today.

To your dividend investing success,

InvestingInDividends.com

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, you might be busily hunting for gifts that are both affordable and practical.

Well, why not give someone a share of your favorite dividend-paying stock?

The real problem isn’t finding good stocks to buy. It’s the logistics — while a single share of stock might be good for your budget, it isn’t always economical to buy in terms of commissions. Plus, how would you go about getting it registered in the proper name?

Good news: Plenty of websites specialize in this kind of thing — they’ll even send a nicely mounted stock certificate right to the person’s home.

That’s a great, tangible way to get somebody interested in investing!

Three popular sites for gifting stock are www.giveashare.com, www.oneshare.com, and www.giftsofstock.com.

Learn about these three dividend gift ideas for your favorite investor.

To your dividend investing success,

InvestingInDividends.com

When you sell a position at a loss, the IRS allows you to deduct that loss come tax day.

It works like this:

First, if you also booked gains for the year, you’ll be able to offset them on a dollar-for-dollar basis with no limit.

Second, if you recorded more losses than gains — or no gains at all — you can use your losses to offset some ordinary income. The maximum amount is $3,000 ($1,500 if married filing separately) … but you can carry additional losses forward for future tax years.

Doing this before year-end is a no brainer if you have losing positions that you don’t think will ever come back. You will not only get a tax break, but you can then take the proceeds from the sale and reinvest them in better long-term choices (such as solid dividend stocks).

Of course, even if you have underwater positions that you would like to continue holding for the long-term, you still might consider selling them at a loss for the tax advantage.

Why? Because as long as you wait more than 30 calendar days before buying back those same positions, the loss will count on your tax form.

Learn more about selling your dividend losers and how to make it a tax advantage in 2009.

To your dividend investing success,

InvestingInDividends.com

Because Roth IRAs do not require you to take minimum distributions, you can leave every single penny of your Roth IRA intact for your designated beneficiary. That’s great.

Even better is the fact that your heir will face a choice upon your death: Either withdraw the whole amount by December 31 of the fifth year after your death OR begin receiving minimum distributions based on his or her life expectancy.

Under either choice, all the proceeds should be tax-free (with the exception of estate taxes).

Think about what would happen if you loaded up that Roth IRA with stocks that steadily increase their dividends. And imagine what would happen if you were reinvesting those dividends back into more shares!

You’d be combining complete tax efficiency with multiple layers of compounding interest. Heck, with enough time, you could leave behind a nest egg that was rising faster than the rate of your heir’s mandatory withdrawals!

InvestingInDividends.com

Sure, there’s probably plenty of time to take advantage of these prices. They may even get more attractive before all is said and done. But you can’t let fear freeze you in your tracks. You’ve got to keep looking ahead and planning for better days.

Never forget these two basic facts:

First, many of the market’s major advances have come swiftly, and without warning. And they almost always anticipate economic recovery.

Second, an all-cash portfolio will almost certainly underperform over any substantial length of time.

To be clear, now may not be the time to go “all in” on stocks or take unnecessary risks. The volatility is still a bit too high.
But I you should stick to your investment plan … continue contributing to your retirement accounts … and diversify into some core income stocks if you haven’t already done so. These prices will not last forever!

InvestingInDividends.com

In September, Microsoft boosted its payment by a solid 18%, and National Semi hiked a whopping 33%! Those aren’t token increases … they demonstrate solid financial wherewithal and loyalty to shareholders.

But how are tech companies boosting their dividends right now? Aren’t they the kind of firms most hurt by economic downturns?
On one hand, the answer is, “yes” — tech companies do feel the bite of weaker economic conditions. Many of their products are discretionary items themselves. Take software, for example. You might delay upgrading to the latest version of Windows right away. Ditto for video game systems like Xbox 360.

It’s the same thing in the case of semiconductors. Many of these tiny circuits end up in discretionary items like cellphones and televisions.

So demand for tech products is clearly cyclical. Always has been. Even corporate customers, which make up a large percentage of tech buys, can — and will — wait to upgrade their systems when business is on the decline.

But despite the cyclicality, America’s best tech companies still have big brand names. Their sizable businesses are difficult to compete with. Cash flows remain strong.

Plus, these companies have shown rigid fiscal responsibility, especially after the tech bubble burst. They have clearly survived tough times before, and are well aware of the risk of not being prepared for future downturns. As a result, these companies boast strong balance sheets.

That’s translating into bigger dividend payments and a rare bright spot for income investors.

InvestingInDividends.com