Financial Terms Glossary

An amount (often a personal or business expense) that reduces income subject to tax.

Money owed to taxpayers when their total tax payments are greater than the total tax. Refunds are received from the government.

When someone steals your Social Security number to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund; may also be called tax-filing-related identity theft.

Required payments of money to governments, which use the funds to provide public goods and services for the benefit of the community as a whole.

A fixed or limited period of time for which something lasts or is intended to last (for example, a five-year loan, a three-year certificate of deposit, a one-year insurance policy, a 30-year mortgage).

Trade in stocks broadly refers to any buying and selling of stock, but is colloquially used to refer to more shorter-term investments made by very active investors. Stock trading is a difficult and risky enterprise, but with education, you can work to lower risks and increase your likelihood of success.

A fee charged every time you use the card for a certain type of transaction. Be sure to ask about fees or read the cardholder agreement associated with your card.

An interest-bearing savings security issued by the U.S. government for a set amount of money.

Income people receive even if they don’t work for pay. Can include things like children’s allowances, stock dividends paid by corporations, and financial gifts.

A loan (such as most types of credit cards) that does not use property as collateral. Lenders consider these loans to be more risky than secured loans, so they may charge a higher rate of interest for them. If the loan is not paid back as agreed, the lender can also start debt collection, file negative information on your credit report, and might sue you.

Stock valuation is the process of determining the intrinsic value of a company's shares

The amount of money that something is worth.

Expenses that change in amount from month to month.

A kind of electronic money. It’s a digital representation of value that is not issued by a government, such as a central bank or a public authority, but is accepted as a means of payment and can be transferred, stored, or traded electronically.

Tricking someone into wiring or transferring money to steal from them. One common example of a wire transfer fraud is the “grandparent scam.” This is when a scammer posing as a grandchild or a friend of a grandchild calls to say they are in a foreign country, or in some kind of trouble, and need money wired or sent right away.

Money that employers withhold from employees’ paychecks. This money is deposited for the government and is credited against the employees' tax liability when they file their returns. Employers withhold money for federal income taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes, and state and local income taxes in some states and localities.

The income return on an investment, usually expressed as an annual percentage