Investment In The Contract

An annuity works like this: you pay a lump sum of money now...then, at some point in the future, you start getting regular payments back. So you might pay $100,000 today, and in 20 years, when you're ready to retire, you start getting $500 a month for as long as you live.

The amount you put into the annuity is referred to as your "investment in the contract." So the term would apply to the $100,000 you paid.

The concept matters when it comes to taxes. The $100,000 you put in is principal. You don't get taxed on that money coming back to you. It's not new income. It's just your own money coming back to your account. But additional funds coming in do get taxed. That's fresh income.

Any annuity payment will get broken down to answer two questions: 1) how much is the investment in the contract?...and 2) how much is the new taxable income? So, of the $500 payment you receive, the official documentation might show that $350 is the tax-free amount, while $150 is money that you'll have to report as income.

Related or Semi-related Video

Finance: What is a Commitment Letter?5 Views

00:00

Finance a la shmoop what is a commitment letter? dear Rebecca it's been fun and

00:08

all but asking me to move in with you was a real turnoff so uh have a nice [Rebecca reading letter]

00:14

life yeah that would be a fear of commitment letter I know that one well

00:19

well so what's a commitment letter then all right well you need dough but you

00:23

don't need it today you need it in six months when construction is finished on

00:27

your cabin by the lake at that point you'll convert your very expensive

00:31

building loan into a normal mortgage well you can go to the bank and for a [Man walks into bank]

00:36

small ish fee get a commitment letter from them which stipulates that assuming

00:42

nothing material changes between now and then you will in fact then get a loan

00:46

for one hundred fifty two thousand dollars at 5 percent fixed interest rate

00:49

for 30 years the bank is then committed to giving you that loan when you know [Contract stamped with committed]

00:54

eventually you need it that way you don't have to worry about your bank you

00:59

know breaking up with you which is nice because it's tough getting

01:02

the It's not you it's me speech from a guy in a bowtie [Man wearing bow tie talking to a man in the bank]

Find other enlightening terms in Shmoop Finance Genius Bar(f)