AT&T Inc (T)

[GreedyAgorist]

Looking at a consolidated Form 1099 right now (corrected, of course) It seems like ETF/ETN's pay Non-qualified dividends, while common and preferred shares in companies pay qualified dividends. T here would qualify as the latter, of course. T's 52 cent divvy would be taxed at 15% rather than your higher rates of 22, 24, 32 or higher.

Again, if you buy it to cap the divvy and then sell before the next quarter, I am not sure if you get the lower rate. I have no example from last year of doing that. I thought that I would, but I guess I was mostly playing Volatility and DJIA options last year in the taxable account. I did sell a cash covered put on Conagra, but it looks like it ended up expiring worthless, so no shares got assigned to me.

Hmm, if today's gains hold tomorrow, looks like the same thing will happen to me with my cash covered put on T. Glad I sold it for more than 52 cents. That is my absolute minimum premium on those kinds of options: the equivalent of the dividend, so I get paid like a shareholder anyway. (Do it in an IRA, and you do not have to account for how much more you need to cover the difference in tax rates.)