1. Dealing with Foreign Income & Investments IDENTIFYING INCOME AND HOW TO COUNT IT FOR ENERGY ASSISTANCE JEN RIGHTSELL, OPPORTUNITY COUNCIL

2. Identifying Incomes  Investment Incomes  IRA Distributions  Dividends  Foreign Income Using Currency Converters  Canadian Pension Plan (CPP)  Rental Income Outside the U.S.

3. Dealing with Investment Income  We will be looking at two different types of investments  Dividends – Payments made by a corporation to its shareholders, usually as a distribution of profits  IRA (Individual Retirement Accounts) – Allows individuals to direct pretax income, up to specific annual limits, toward investments that can grow tax- deferred (no capital gains or dividend income is taxed)  Traditional IRA – tax-deferred contributions held by brokers that invest the funds in mutual funds, government bonds, stocks, and dividends  Roth IRA – taxed at the time of contribution in order to save on taxes for future distribution  Distributions of IRAs are required by the IRS once the owner reaches age 70 ½

4. IRA Distributions Per Commerce, we count distributions that are a gain in the months received Example shows amount of distribution taken monthly with interest Only gains here come from interest deposits Since the distribution shows interests (or gains), we count this as the client’s income instead of the $200.00 drawn monthly

5. Dividends Income Statement Like IRAs, we count dividend income that is a gain for the months received In this example, the dividend payment and the interest are additions to the account We count the full amount for this client’s income for March

6. Dealing with Foreign Income  Canadian Pensions  Canadian Pension Plan (also known as CPP) Similar to Social Security  For eligible individuals whom have worked in Canada;  Have made at least one valid CPP payment;  At least age 60 (65 for full benefit)  Old Age Security (OAS)  For eligible Canadian citizens age 65 and older;  Whom have resided in Canada at least 20 years after turning 18.  Rental Income Outside the U.S.

7. CPP Award Letter Like Social Security, CPP benefits will increase annually with the cost of living. Monthly amounts are shown in Canadian currency unless otherwise stated Receive the same amount monthly

8. CPP Check Stub Amount listed is in Canadian dollars

9. Online Currency Converters  Currency Converters  http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/ http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/  http://finance.yahoo.com/currency- converter/#from=USD;to=CAD;amt=1 http://finance.yahoo.com/currency- converter/#from=USD;to=CAD;amt=1  http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1 &From=USD&To=CAD http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1 &From=USD&To=CAD  http://www.usdollarcanadian.com/ http://www.usdollarcanadian.com/

10. Calculating using a Currency Converter *Courtesy of Yahoo Currency Converter

11. Rental Income Outside the U.S.  What do you need?  Use “Rental Property Income Worksheet” from the Dept of Commerce website  A copy of the rental agreement or lease  Proof of deductions taken if itemizing deductions  Or take the Standard Deduction of $100/month.

12. Rental Agreement for Mexican DF property Rent stated at $2,000.00 US

13. Property Taxes for Av.San Jernimo 1417 10200 Mexico DF $63,333.00 Mexican Pesos Paid Annually

14. Convert Property Taxes using the Currency Converter Take the annual payment of the property taxes paid and divide it by 12 to get a monthly rate $4,700.82 ÷ 12 $391.74 Monthly deduction allowed for rental income for this property

16. Questions? Jen Rightsell Opportunity Council 1111 Cornwall Ave Bellingham, WA 98225 Email: jen_rightsell@oppco.orgjen_rightsell@oppco.org Phone: (360) 734-5121 ext 153