Information on ex-dividend dates

Changes to the tax laws in JGTRRA of 2003 define certain dividends as "qualifying" for lower tax rates if the shares are owned for 60 days in the window starting 60 days before the ex-dividend date and ending 60 days after the ex-dividend date.

The ex-dividend date is the earliest date on which a club can sell a stock paying a dividend and still receive that dividend. The ex-dividend date is two trading days before the record date and typically between two and five weeks before the payment (transaction) date. For more on ex-dividend dates, see this page on the: SEC's web site

If you have entered security dividends in the cash section, you need to delete them from the cash section and then re-enter all of them in the security section and include the ex-dividend date. If they are already in the Security section, you still need to go back and put in the ex-div date. This applies to all dividends, starting Jan 1 2003.

If your broker statement does not include the ex-dividend dates, here are some steps for where they can be found:
1. Go to finance.yahoo.com and enter any ticker symbol to get a quote for today.

2. After you get this, click the historical quotes link in the left column, which will get you to the historical quotes for that security.

3. Once you're on this page, enter start and end dates of 1/1/03 and 12/31/03, select "Dividends Only" to the right of the date boxes, and click the "Get Prices" button

The list that appears will be not only the ex-dividend date of each dividend, but the per share value of that dividend (rounded to the nearest whole cent).

More info on tax law change and why it effects Club Accounting