Top 25 Most Traded Stocks by Investors at Firstrade in March
Here’s the full list of top favored stocks among Firstrade investors:
Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (TSM)
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
NIO Inc. (NIO)
GameStop Corp. (GME)
Square Inc. (SQ)
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC)
Carnival Corp. (CCL)
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Teladoc Health Inc. (TDOC)
NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA)
American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL)
Boeing Co. (BA)
Unity Software Inc. (U)
Baidu Inc. (BIDU)
Sundial Growers Inc. (SNDL)
Opendoor Technologies Inc. (OPEN)
Riot Blockchain Inc. (RIOT)
Quantumscape Corp. (QS)
Marathon Patent Group Inc. (MARA)
Senseonics Holdings Inc. (SENS)
Canaan Inc. (CAN)
Futu Holdings Ltd. (FUTU)
Skillz Inc. (SKLZ)
What First-Time Investors Should Know About 1099 Tax Reporting Forms
Many first-time investors can find tax-filing overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. To start getting a handle on this important duty, you’ll need to begin by learning about the 1099.
The 1099 is a reporting form sent out by brokerage firms and others to report non-salary income to the IRS. There are many types of 1099s, but Firstrade account holders are most likely to receive one or more of the following:
1099-DIV reporting brokerage account dividends and distributions, including your distributed share of mutual fund capital gains
1099-B reporting gains and losses from sales of investments (including derivatives)
1099-INT reporting interest paid on sweep accounts, money markets, bonds and more
1099-MISC to report prizes, such as the Firstrade raffle prizes and gifts
1099-R reports distributions from retirement accounts
Determining when to pay taxes for your brokerage(non-retirement) account
Most investors realize that if they sell an asset and take the money out of their portfolio, they may pay taxes on that transaction. But many don’t understand that they may also need to pay taxes when they sell assets in a portfolio, even if the proceeds haven’t been distributed.
The amount of taxes paid varies depending on the type of the investment income. For example:
Interest and dividends received within the account will likely be considered income. The tax rate of dividends is determined by the type of dividend (qualified or non-qualified) and your income tax rate. However, interest income is usually taxable at your ordinary income tax rate.
Account gains realized through the sale of investments will likely be subject to capital gains taxes. The tax rate will depend on whether the investor held the investment for a long-term (12 months or more) or a short-term (less than 12 months).
Long term investment: When you realize a gain after selling an investment you’ve owned for a year or more, then you’re subject to long-term capital gains tax rates, which are:
15 percent for single filers with an income of $80,000 to $441,449
Up to 28 percent for married filers earning $496,600 or more
Those earning less than the above amounts may not be subject to any long-term capital gains taxes.
Short term investment: Assets sold after being held for less than a year are subject to short-term capital gains tax rates, which are equal to income tax rates.
In the case of investment losses, you may be able to write-off up to $3,000 of losses against your other investment gains. Before doing so, review your transactions and make sure you haven’t run afoul of wash sale rules by repurchasing the same or similar holdings within 30-days before or after the date of the loss. Remember, you are still responsible to report any capital losses to your local tax authorities. For more information about tax-reporting, visit our Tax center.
How to Report 1099 Income
In most cases, brokerage firms send 1099 forms by February 15th of each year. If you are a Firstrade client, you should have received them in the mail or via email already. If you don’t remember receiving one and think you should have, don’t worry. Login to your account and download the form at: Account > E-Documents > Tax .
When it’s time to file your taxes in May, your reporting responsibilities for the 1099s vary depending on your status. If you’re using your exclusive Firstrade discount to get TurboTax software, the program will ask if you’ve received a 1099 and then provide instructions for importing the document. Login now to access more information about filing your taxes.
Top 25 Most Traded Stocks by Investors at Firstrade in February
Check out the full list of top favored stocks among Firstrade investors in February.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (TSM)
GameStop Corp. (GME)
Sundial Growers Inc. (SNDL)
Unity Software Inc. (U)
NIO Inc. (NIO)
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC)
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Square Inc. (SQ)
Tilray Inc. (TLRY)
Nano Dimension Ltd. (NNDM)
Opendoor Technologies Inc. (OPEN)
Senseonics Holdings Inc. (SENS)
Riot Blockchain Inc. (RIOT)
Churchill Capital Corp. (CCIV)
Quantumscape Corp. (QS)
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC)
Futu Holdings Ltd. (FUTU)
Asensus Surgical Inc. (TRXC)
Marathon Patent Group Inc. (MARA)
NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA)
Carnival Corp. (CCL)
American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL)
The Power of Compounding: Why Investing Early can Build your Wealth
Think twenty is too young to be thinking about your future retirement? Think again. Putting money into your own IRA account is one of the smartest ways to save for your retirement without paying thousands of dollars in taxes later on.
5 Reasons Why Young Millennials and GenZers Should Take Advantage of Roth IRAs:
You’ll Get Decades of Tax-Free Growth
That’s right. By taking advantage of a Roth IRA and following the rules, you’ll be able to put away thousands of dollars while your earnings and contributions grow 100% tax-free.
Withdraws After Retirement are Tax-Free
Why lose a percentage of your precious earnings and contributions when you can withdraw for FREE? A Roth IRA has this among many other benefits.
And if that wasn’t enough of a reason to start a Roth IRA young, individuals in their 20s often make less than their elders in their 30s and 40s, which means they’ll be in a lower tax bracket. Use this opportunity to put away as much as you can!
You Can Start at ANY Age (But the Sooner the Better!)
As long as you have an earned income, you can start your Roth IRA just as soon as you’re ready! Keep in mind that there is a limit to how much you can make when you’re contributing to a Roth IRA. If you are a single tax filer and earn more than $133,000 in 2020, you will not be eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA. For married couples the income cutoff is $196,000.
You Can Use Your Roth IRA Fund for Future Home Purchases
If you follow the rules, you can use up to $10,000 for buying, building or rebuilding a home. This is a “first time homebuyers exception”. However, this doesn’t necessarily have to mean you’ve never owned a home, just that you haven’t in the last two years.
Saving Young Means Saving More - And With Far Less Hassle
Financial planners will usually advise you to save between 15-20% of your income, beginning in your twenties, but having a clear goal is a much better plan.
You can find out specifically how much you’ll have to save a year using this handy financial planning calculator. Just remember that the more you can save, the better. After all, this is your retirement we’re talking about!
To put things in perspective, if you were to put a minimum amount of $1,000 a year towards your Roth IRA starting at the age of 20, you will have already accrued around 225,508.12 by the time you’re ready to retire at 65.
Contrast this with waiting until you’re 30 to begin putting a minimum of $1,000 a year towards your retirement, which would come out to be around $118,120.87 by the time you were 65 at an annual rate of 6%.
Another useful way to look at this would be that if you want to have over a million dollars in savings by the time you retire at the age of 65, you should be actively putting away around $4,500 a year from the time you’re 20 until you retire. This comes out to be $1,014,786.56 in total. Awesome, right?
Meeting savings goals will get harder the older you get because in order to save a minimum amount of around a million dollars for retirement, you’ll have to put nearly half your income into savings in a single year if you wait until you’re 40.
When it comes to retirement, the more you can save, the better. And that means the sooner you start, the more you can save and the easier it will be to meet your savings goals.
What Are You Waiting For? Open a Roth IRA TODAY!
For contributions in 2019 and 2020, you’ll be able to contribute as much as $6,000 to a Roth IRA for both years. Remember, you have until July 15 to contribute to your 2019 IRA; For contributions in 2020, You can deposit from Jan. 1 this year to the tax year’s filing deadline in mid-April of 2021.
When you open a Roth IRA account with Firstrade, you’ll be able to secure your retirement in a completely no-fee IRA. That means no maintenance fees, no account set-up fees and no annual account fee!
In addition, you’ll be able to take advantage of trading free of commission on stocks, options, and mutual funds in your IRA.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s open your Firstrade no-fee Roth IRA account and start saving for your future and retirement NOW!
How to Save on Your 2020 Taxes
A great portfolio requires strategic planning on how taxes impact investments. See how 2020 tax changes could affect your decisions as you look ahead to filing.
Here are among the things you should be thinking about before filing your taxes:
1. Contribute the maximum to your IRA
You can contribute as much as $6,000 to an IRA, (the same maximum amount as in 2019). If you’re age 50 or older, you can make an additional $1,000 contribution.
2. Defer some income if you can
You only pay taxes on the income you receive during a given year. So, you can put off paying some taxes by deferring some income. While this may be difficult for salaried employees, consider deferring some income until next year. Perhaps you can defer your annual bonus, for instance. If you’re self-employed, it may be easier to delay payments until 2021. You may want to consult your accountant, however, because this only makes sense if you’re going to stay in the same or lower tax bracket next year.
3. 2020 Tax brackets have been adjusted.
Tax rates have remained the same, but income ranges (tax brackets) have been adjusted slightly to account for inflation. These adjustments may cause some individuals to be placed in a lower tax bracket than they were last year. Tax Brackets for 2020 are as follows:
4. Think about additional deductions you can take
Here are some itemized deductions worth paying attention to:
State and local income taxes, property taxes, and real estate taxes are capped at $10,000.
The mortgage interest deduction is a tax deduction for mortgage interest paid on the first $1 million of mortgage debt. Homeowners who bought houses after Dec. 15, 2017, can deduct interest on the first $750,000 of the mortgage.
Medical expenses more than 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI) can be deducted.
No miscellaneous itemized deductions are allowed.
5. Contribute more to your flexible spending account (FSAs)
If your employer offers a health care FSA, take advantage of the increase in contribution limits. Your employer dictates what you can contribute, but the IRS maximum for 2020 is $2,750. Contribution limits for dependent care FSAs, remains at $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for married couples or individual heads of household.
6. Consider “loss harvesting”
You may want to consider selling some stocks in your portfolio to realize losses, which can then offset any capital gains to reduce your overall tax burden. Losses will offset gains dollar for dollar so this could be a winning strategy for you.
7. Save more on taxes with your health savings account (HSA)
The maximum amount you can contribute to an HSA for 2019 is $3,550 for an individual and $7,100 for a family. If you’re age 55 or over, you can contribute an extra $1,000.
8. You may qualify for the child tax credit
Kids are great, especially since the child tax credit could even be paid back as a tax refund. And, did you know that tax credits reduce your taxable income?
You may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $2,000 per dependent child age 16 and younger, if your household income is below $200,000 for single filers or $400,000 for joint filers. If your child is 17–24, you may still qualify for a credit of up to $500.
9. Beware the “kiddie tax”
A child’s investment income above $2,200 is taxed at the same rate as trusts and estates, which are usually higher than individual tax rates, so you may want to stay under that amount.
10. Alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption could impact investment decisions
For 2020, the AMT exemptions are $72,900 for single filers, $113,400 for married taxpayers filing jointly, and $56,700 for married taxpayers filing separately. The phase-out thresholds are $1,036,800 for married taxpayers filing a joint return and $518,400 for all other taxpayers.
11. Give More, Save More on Estate Taxes
The unified estate and gift tax exemption is now $11.58 million for 2020. It’s higher than last year, but will expire at the end of 2025.
The gift tax exemption, which allows you to “gift” investments to family members, remains at $15,000 per recipient.