What  is the best source for completing and/or verifying
interview questions such as ex-dividend dates, and
designation of dividends as qualified or not?  Based on the
number of 1099 corrections we typically get from our
brokerage each year, I hesitate to accept their data
without verification.

I use www.earnings.com to verify ex-dividend dates. Just enter a ticker symbol and scroll to the bottom of the page. (Though I have to admit that I don't think that I've found any errors in bivio's lookup function.) As to whether a specific dividend payment is qualifying or not, only you know for sure. You have to apply the rules: (1) is the payer an entity whose dividends can be qualifying and (2) did we own the underlying shares for the appropriate period of time (generally at least 61 days in the 121 day window surrounding the ex-dividend date). There is more information in IRS Pub. 550, Investment Income and Expense, www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p550.pdf.

 

Ira Smilovitz