Passive income

Passive income is income that requires little to no effort to earn and maintain. It is called progressive passive income when the earner expends little effort to grow the income. Examples of passive income include rental income and any business activities in which the earner does not materially participate. Some jurisdictions' taxing authorities, such as the Internal Revenue Service in the United States of America, distinguish passive income from other forms of income, such as earnings from regular or contractual employment, and may tax it differently.

This article is about category used in accounting and taxation. For subset of unearned income based on property ownership, see property income. For the general concept that includes property income, see unearned income.

United States of America

The United States Internal Revenue Service categorizes income as active income, passive income, or portfolio income.[1] It defines passive income as only coming from two sources, or "passive activities": rental activity or "trade or business activities in which you do not materially participate."[2][3] Other financial and government institutions also recognize it as an income obtained as a result of capital growth or in relation to negative gearing. Passive income is usually taxable.

Active income is earned income including all taxable income and wages the earner receives for working. Active income includes wages, self-employment income, and material participation in an S corporation or partnership.[4] Portfolio income is derived from investments such as dividends, interest, capital gains, and some royalties.[5]

Passive activities

There are three kinds of passive activities:

  • Cash flows from property income, including profits from ownership of capital, rent from ownership of resources such as rental income, cash flows from property or any piece of real estate, and interest from owning financial assets.[6]
  • Trade or business activities in which one does not materially participate during the year.[6]
  • Royalties, which are payments made by one company (the licensee) to another company or person (the licensor) for the right to use the latter's intellectual property (book, music, video) or patent. However, the Internal Revenue Service only considers royalties passive income when they are "not derived in the ordinary course of a trade or business."[2]

Some limited partnerships may be considered passive as long as the limited partner does not have any role in the company and exchanges their capital investment for a share of the activities profit.

Rental activities

In order to be considered a rental activity, tangible property is used by customers and the income paid from the activity comes from the amount paid for the use of the property and is not considered a rental if:

The average period of customer use is:

  • 7 days or less
  • 30 days or less and significant personal services were provided

Sources

There are more types of passive income than is shown in this article. In any case, it is preferable to consult with financial advisor first.

  • Bank deposit

It is one of the most popular and simplest ways to gain passive income. A person gives a certain amount of money to a bank and takes interest every month.[7]

The profit, created by security, is in general inversely proportional to the risk it holds.

  • Bonds

Bonds are debt securities issued by the state or company for gaining investments. By purchasing a bond, a person is lending savings to the issuer for a specified period. In return, he receives income at the very end of the bond validity period, or he can also earn so-called coupon income.[8]

  • Dividend stocks

It is a reliable way to generate income passively. However, it is important to mention the research to find stocks with desirable risk/income ratio.[9]

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See also

References
  1. "Publication 550 — Investment Income and Expenses". www.irs.gov.
  2. "Publication 925 — Passive Activity and At-Risk Rules" Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  3. "Tax Topic 425 Passive Activities — Losses and Credits". Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  4. "Earned Income | Internal Revenue Service". www.irs.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  5. "Earned Income vs Passive Income vs Portfolio Income: A Comparison - Just Ask Ben Why". Just Ask Ben Why. 2015-06-22. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  6. "Publication 925 (2017), Passive Activity and At-Risk Rules | Internal Revenue Service". www.irs.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  7. Julia Kagan (September 19, 2019). "Bank Deposits".
  8. Maurie Backman (January 18, 2018). "What Is Passive Income?".
  9. Shauna O'Brien (February 25, 2015). "What are Dividend Stocks?".
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