1. A corporation declares a dividend payable on December 28, 2012. It follows a practice of paying dividends by checks that are mailed so that stockholders do not receive them until January 2013. You report this dividend on your 2013 return.
2. On December 28, 2012, a dividend is declared by a mutual fund. You receive it in January 2013. The dividend is taxable in 2012, when declared, and not 2013, when received, under the special rule for dividends declared and payable by a mutual fund in the last three months of the year.
3. On December 28, 2012, a dividend is credited by a corporation to a stockholder’s account and made immediately available. The dividend is taxable in 2012 as the crediting is considered constructive receipt in 2012, even though the dividend is not received until 2013 or a later year.
4. You own stock in a corporation. In April 2012, the corporation declared a dividend, but it provided that the dividend will be paid when it gets the cash. It finally pays the dividend in September 2013; the dividend is taxable in 2013.