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- Hopeful Ever After #018
Hopeful Ever After #018
February 2026
Carolyn Howard, CFP®
February 18, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Dear Followers,
I want to say Happy Valentine’s Day. I know this day can be hard but I hope you can smile with the loving memories of the day. I hope you can wrap yourself in hoping for loving days ahead with friends and family. You are in my thoughts and hopes.
Sending love and hugs,
Carolyn
“I have found that service to others is the best way in dealing with my own widowed experience. Those of us that have been on this journey can help others in knowing they are not alone. We get it and we support each other.”
This Month’s Financial Tip
TIP: When you are reviewing your non-retirement accounts, please understand how you can minimize Ordinary dividends and increase Qualified dividends. if you are wanting to own dividend paying stocks, mutual funds,or ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) ask or find out how much the dividend income is going to be and what kind of dividends are primarily issued.
Dividends: Dividends are payments a company makes to its shareholders,usually from its profits, as a way of sharing earnings with investors of their stock. They can be paid as cash or reinvested to buy more stock shares. They can be taxed as ordinary income tax or capital gains tax. Whether you receive the cash or they are reinvested, a tax bill is generated each year if the account is not a retirement account.
If you need help understanding your investments and dividend income, reach out to Carolyn. [email protected] or 877.328.4037 ×700
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Understanding Taxation of Dividends
Judy, a client, was trying to understand her tax documents for her dividends
in her non-retirement account. She had received 1099-Div documents. Part
of her tax statement showed Ordinary dividends and Qualified dividends.
She asked what is the difference and how do they affect my taxes?
Ordinary dividends that are issued before a 60 day holding period out of 121
day will be taxed as ordinary income. Qualified dividends that are issued 61
days within the 121 days of owning the stock are taxed as capital gains.
Note: The investor must hold the stock more than 60 days during the 121-day period that begins 60 days before the ex-dividend date.
Judy’s tax bracket was low enough that she had no capital gain tax on her
Qualified dividends. She had a very low amount of Ordinary dividends so
there was a minimal tax for her. She chose to take her dividends for added
income.
Her retirement account dividends are not taxed until money from that
account is withdrawn.
Reach out to Carolyn if you have questions about dividends.
Please call me 941-841-6564 or email me at [email protected]
Can AI Help with Taxes?
Below is an article with some insight on how AI is being incorporated to tax planning and filing. As well as some tips before filing your 2025 taxes.
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This Month’s Recipe
I bet you can guess the recipe for this month -- Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Adapted from the “The King Arthur Flour Cookie Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook”)
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Ingredients
¾ cup (1½ sticks unsalted butter) softened 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup dark brown sugar 2 Tblsp light corn syrup
1 Tblsp white vinegar 2 large eggs
1 Tblsp vanilla extract ½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder ¼ tsp baking soda
2¼ cups all purpose flour 3 cups chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugars, corn syrup, and vinegar
for 3 minutes.Beat in eggs one at a time.
Beat in the vanilla, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Stir in the flour.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Drop the dough by tablespoonful onto baking sheets. Bake for 10
minutes or until just set.Remove from the oven and cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet.
Transfer to a rack to cool completely.