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Identity theft is the unauthorized use of your personal information, such as your name, address, Social Security number, or credit account information.
People usually steal your identity to make purchases or obtain credit, though they may also use the data to apply for a driver's license or other form of official identification.
- Browse Related Terms: CAC Digital Signature, Common Access Card (CAC), Electronic Signature (or eSignature), Identity Theft, Personal Identification Number (PIN), Phishing, Smishing
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance > Consumer Credit
The theft of personal and/or financial information that identifies the consumer, and which is often used to apply for credit in their name. For instance, a thief may obtain your name and social security number and open accounts in your name. Consumers who are victims of identity theft have several protections available. See Identity Theft
State of Maine, Department of Professional and Financial Regulation - Cite This Source - This Definition- Browse Related Terms: Collateral, Consumer, Cosigner, Identity Theft, Investor, mortgage, Refinance, security, Security Interest, Telemarketing Fraud
All > Business > Finance > Insurance > Auto Insurance
A plan for people who can't obtain insurance through the voluntary market.
- Browse Related Terms: Actual cash value, Actual cash value (ACV), Aftermarket Crash Part, Arbitration, Assigned risk plan, Auto Replacement Coverage, Betterment, Exclusion, Full Tort, Illinois Automobile Insurance Plan (assigned risk plan), Liability, Liability Coverage, Property damage (PD), Total Loss
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A fund that pays an insurer’s claims when the company is insolvent. All Illinois-licensed insurance companies belong to the Illinois Guaranty Fund.
- Browse Related Terms: agent, Broker, Conditions, Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund, North Dakota Insurance Guaranty Fund, Producer (agent)
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You buy an immediate annuity contract with a lump-sum purchase. You begin receiving income from the annuity either right away or within 13 months.
A fixed immediate annuity guarantees the amount of income you'll receive in each payment, based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company selling the contract.
A variable immediate annuity pays income based on the performance of the annuity funds, or subaccounts, you select from those available through the contract.
Immediate annuities appeal to people who want to convert a sum of money to a source of regular income, either for themselves or for another person. One way they're frequently used is as a source of retirement income.
- Browse Related Terms: Account balance, Accumulation period, Accumulation unit, Annuitant, Annuitization, Annuitize, Annuity, Annuity principal, Deferred annuity, Fixed annuity, Hybrid annuity, Immediate annuity, Income annuity, Life expectancy, Lump-Sum Distribution, Minimum required distribution (MRD), Nonqualified annuity, Split-funded annuity, Systematic withdrawal, Variable annuity, Withdrawal
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance > Mortgage
The assumption, prevalent in the financial markets, that the federal government will cover GSE debt obligations.
- Browse Related Terms: Conventional Conforming Mortgage Loans, Emergency Home Finance Act of 1970, Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act of 1954 (Charter Act), Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE), Housing and Urban Development Act, Implied Guarantee, Loan Type, Private-Label Mortgage-Backed Securities (Private-label MBS), Private-Label Mortgages, Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement (PSPA)
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Imputed interest is interest you are assumed to have collected even if that interest was not paid.
For example, you pay income tax on the imputed interest of a zero-coupon bond you hold in a taxable account even though the interest is not paid until the bond matures.
Similarly, you may be required to pay income tax on imputed interest if you make an interest-free loan, even if that loan is to your children or another member of your family. The government's position, in this case, is that you should have charged interest even though you didn't do so.
- Browse Related Terms: Budget, Consumer price index (CPI), Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), Emergency fund, Holding period, Imputed interest, Savings bonds, Spending plan, US savings bond
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An option is in-the-money at any point up to expiration if the exercise price is below the market price of a call option or above the market price of a put option. That means an in-the-money option has value.
For example, if you hold an equity call option with a strike price of $50, and the current market price of the stock is $52, the option is in-the-money.
As the option holder, you could buy the stock at $50 and either sell it at $52 or add it to your portfolio. Or, if you preferred, you could sell the option, potentially at a profit.
In-the-money options are generally among the most actively traded, especially as the expiration date approaches.
- Browse Related Terms: assignment, At-the-money, Automatic exercise, Call, Call option, Covered option, Exercise, Go short, Green shoe clause, In-the-money, Incentive stock option (ISO), Long position, Naked option, offset, Option, Option premium, Put option, Short position, Stock option, Strike price, Uncovered option, Writer
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An account that has no activity; neither deposits nor withdrawals posted to the account, for a significant period of time.
- Browse Related Terms: Availability date, Availability policy, Cut-off time, Deposit slip, Derogatory Information, Disclosures (Deposit), Escrow Analysis, Exception Hold, Float, Inactive Account, Uncollected funds
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All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance > Retirement
A member who is no longer employed by a public or governmental entity that participates in one of the South Carolina Retirement Systems’ plans and does not contribute a set percentage of his wages into a pension plan. An inactive member may not purchase service credit or apply for disability retirement; however, an inactive member who has not withdrawn his contributions and interest from the pension plan may apply for a deferred annuity (if eligible) upon reaching retirement eligibility. For more information, choose either SCRS or PORS , or Inactive Account Search .
- Browse Related Terms: Correlated Systems, Defined benefit plan, Inactive Member, member, Non-Member, Pension Plan, Police Officers Retirement System (PORS), South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS), State Optional Retirement Program
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Corporate executives may be granted incentive stock options (ISOs), also called qualifying stock options. These options aren't taxed when they're granted or exercised, but only when the underlying shares are sold.
If, after exercising the options, participating executives keep the shares for the required period, any earnings from selling the shares are taxed at the owner's long-term capital gains rate.
However, stock option transactions may make sellers vulnerable to the alternative minimum tax (AMT).
- Browse Related Terms: assignment, At-the-money, Automatic exercise, Call, Call option, Covered option, Exercise, Go short, Green shoe clause, In-the-money, Incentive stock option (ISO), Long position, Naked option, offset, Option, Option premium, Put option, Short position, Stock option, Strike price, Uncovered option, Writer
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Includes but is not limited to the following items: earned income such as compensation for services, fees, commissions, salaries, wages and similar items; gross income derived from business (and net income if the individual elects to include it); gains derived from dealings in property including capital gains; interest; rents; royalties; dividends; annuities; income from the investment portion of life insurance and endowment contracts; pensions; income from discharge of indebtedness; distributive share of partnership income; and income from an interest in an estate or trust. The term includes all income items, regardless of whether they are taxable for Federal income tax purposes, such as interest on municipal bonds. Generally, income means "gross income" as determined in conformity with the Internal Revenue Service principles.
- Browse Related Terms: Back-up withholding, Custodial account, Estate, Estate tax, Gift tax, Income, Income in respect of a decedent, Income stock, National debt, Qualified domestic trust (QDOT), Revocable trust, Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA), Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA)
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Money earned through investments.
- Browse Related Terms: AICPA PFP, Asset allocation, Asset Classes, Capital appreciation, Cash Equivalents, Distribution, diversification, dividend, Income, inflation, Service Credit, Yield
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An income annuity, sometimes called an immediate annuity, pays an annual income, usually in monthly installments.
Your income is based on the annuity's price, your age (and your joint annuitant's age if you name one), the term length, and the specific details of the contract. It's also dependent on the annuity provider's ability to meet its obligations.
You might buy an income annuity with assets from your 401(k) plan, or your plan may buy an income annuity on your behalf. In that case, the annuity provider guarantees an income that will satisfy your minimum required distribution.
- Browse Related Terms: Account balance, Accumulation period, Accumulation unit, Annuitant, Annuitization, Annuitize, Annuity, Annuity principal, Deferred annuity, Fixed annuity, Hybrid annuity, Immediate annuity, Income annuity, Life expectancy, Lump-Sum Distribution, Minimum required distribution (MRD), Nonqualified annuity, Split-funded annuity, Systematic withdrawal, Variable annuity, Withdrawal
Alternatively called a bond fund. Income funds are a type of mutual fund that holds debt instruments such as government bonds and corporate debentures. Its return is based on both interest earnings and capital gains.
- Browse Related Terms: bond, capital gain or loss, cash equivalent, Debt, income fund, Interest, Maturity, money market, money-market fund, real return, realized and unrealized gain/loss, Risk, treasury bills (t-bills), Zero-coupon bond
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Income funds are mutual funds whose investment objective is to produce current income rather than long-term growth, typically by investing in bonds or sometimes a combination of bonds and preferred stock.
Investors, especially those who have retired or are about to retire, may prefer income funds to potentially more volatile growth funds.
The amount of income a fund may generate is related to the risk posed by the investments that the fund makes and the return they generate.
A fund that buys lower-grade bonds may provide substantially more income than a fund buying investment-grade bonds. But the same fund may also put your principal, or investment amount, at substantial risk.
- Browse Related Terms: Contrarian, equity fund, Global fund, Growth and income fund, income fund, International fund, Investment objective, Portfolio turnover, Prospectus, Real estate investment trust (REIT), Tax-efficient funds, Transparency, Turnover ratio, Value fund, Vulture fund, World fund
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Any income your beneficiary receives after your death that would have gone to you if you were still alive is described as income in respect of a decedent.
One example is the income your beneficiary gets as a minimum required distribution from your 401(k) or IRA. In this case, your beneficiary pays tax on that income at his or her ordinary rate, as you would have.
- Browse Related Terms: Back-up withholding, Custodial account, Estate, Estate tax, Gift tax, Income, Income in respect of a decedent, Income stock, National debt, Qualified domestic trust (QDOT), Revocable trust, Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA), Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA)
All > Business > Finance > Insurance > Auto Insurance
Pays a portion of your wages when injuries sustained in an auto accident keep you from working.
- Browse Related Terms: Bodily Injury Liability, Bodily Injury Liability Coverage, Extraordinary Medical Benefits, Funeral Benefit, Income Loss, Liability limits, Limited Tort, Medical Benefits, Medical Payment, Medical payments and personal injury protection (PIP), No-fault insurance, Personal Injury Protection (PIP), Property Damage Liability, Rental reimbursement coverage, Umbrella Liability Insurance
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An income statement, also called a profit and loss statement, shows the revenues from business operations, expenses of operating the business, and the resulting net profit or loss of a company over a specific period of time.
In assessing the overall financial condition of a company, you'll want to look at the income statement and the balance sheet together, as the income statement captures the company's operating performance and the balance sheet shows its net worth.
- Browse Related Terms: Blue chip stock, Cook the books, Debt-to-equity ratio, Dividend payout ratio, Earnings per share (EPS), EBITDA, Free cash flow, Gross margin, Income statement, Net margin, Payout ratio, Price-to-cash flow, Profit margin, Return on equity, Revenue
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Stock that pays income in the form of regular dividends over an extended period is often described as income stock.
The advantage of owning income stock is that it can supplement your budget or provide new capital to invest. Unless you own the stock in a tax-deferred or tax-free account, you'll owe income tax each year on the dividends you receive.
But dividends on qualifying stock, including most US stock and some international stock, are usually taxed at your lower long-term capital gains rate. Income stock is an important component of most equity income funds and growth and income funds.
- Browse Related Terms: Back-up withholding, Custodial account, Estate, Estate tax, Gift tax, Income, Income in respect of a decedent, Income stock, National debt, Qualified domestic trust (QDOT), Revocable trust, Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA), Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA)
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance > Income Tax
Taxes on income, both earned (salaries, wages, tips, commissions) and unearned (interest, dividends). Income taxes can be levied on both individuals (personal income taxes) and businesses (business and corporate income taxes).
- Browse Related Terms: bonus, compulsory payroll tax, earned income, employee, flat tax, Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, formal tax legislation process, income taxes, independent contractor, salary, self-employment loss, self-employment profit, tip income, wages
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When a business incorporates, it receives a state or federal charter to operate as a corporation. A corporation has a separate and distinct legal and tax identity from its owners.
In fact, in legal terms, a corporation is considered an individual - it can own property, earn income, pay taxes, incur liabilities, and be sued.
Incorporating can offer many advantages to a business, among them limiting the liability of the company's owners. This means that shareholders are not personally responsible for the company's debts. Another advantage is the ability to issue shares of stock and sell bonds, both ways to raise additional capital.
You know that a business is a corporation if it includes the word "Incorporated" - or the short form, "Inc." - in its official name.
- Browse Related Terms: Business Day, Bylaws, Debt Elimination Scheme, Domicile, Incorporation, Limited liability company, Nonprofit, Recapture, sales tax, Sole proprietor, Tenancy-in-common
All > Business > Finance > Insurance > Flood Insurance
Coverage for expenses a property owner must incur, above and beyond the cost to repair the physical damage the structure actually sustained from a flooding event, to comply with mitigation requirements of state or local floodplain management ordinances or laws. Acceptable mitigation measures are elevation, flood-proofing, relocation, demolition, or any combination thereof.
- Browse Related Terms: Actual cash value (ACV), Elevation Certificate, Federal Policy Fee, Grandfathering, Group Flood Insurance Policy (GFIP), Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC), policy, Post-FIRM Building, Pre-FIRM Building, Preferred Risk Policy (PRP), Probation Surcharge (Premium), Replacement Cost Value (RCV), Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP), Submit-for-Rate, Waiting Period, Wave Height Adjustment, Write Your Own (WYO) Program