Browse Investing

Return Measures and Tax Yields

Tax-aware return terms for pre-tax yield, after-tax yield, passive income, and distribution comparisons.

Return Measures and Tax Yields terms explain how investment results are measured, compared, annualized, compounded, distributed, or translated into yield language.

Use this branch when the question depends on the exact return formula, time period, reinvestment assumption, fee treatment, tax treatment, or income-versus-price return split.

Key Terms in This Branch

TermUse it for
After-Tax Real Rate of ReturnA measurement term for comparing investment income, growth, or total performance.
Passive Investment IncomeAn implementation, product, market-data, ownership-action, or warning-sign term.
Pre-Tax ReturnA measurement term for comparing investment income, growth, or total performance.
Pre-Tax YieldA measurement term for comparing investment income, growth, or total performance.
Unfranked Investment IncomeAn implementation, product, market-data, ownership-action, or warning-sign term.

What to Check

Check the formula, measurement period, compounding convention, cash-flow timing, reinvestment assumption, fees, taxes, currency, and whether the result is historical, expected, quoted, or realized.

Common Mistakes

  • Comparing returns from different periods or compounding conventions.
  • Treating quoted yield or expected return as the same as realized performance.
  • Ignoring fees, taxes, currency, reinvestment, and cash-flow timing.
  • Mixing income return, price return, and total return without labeling each measure.

This page is educational and does not recommend a specific investment strategy, security, tax treatment, or account choice.

In this section

Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.

After-Tax Real Rate of Return

After-tax real rate of return measures investment return after subtracting taxes and inflation's effect on purchasing power.

Passive Investment Income

Passive investment income is income from investments such as interest, dividends, rents, royalties, or portfolio holdings rather than active operations.

Pre-Tax Return

Pre-Tax Return refers to the profit from an investment before any taxes are deducted. It provides a clear picture of the investment's gross performance.

Pre-Tax Yield

Pre-tax yield measures investment income or return before adjusting for income taxes, withholding, or investor tax status.

Unfranked Investment Income

Unfranked investment income is investment income paid without attached tax credits, affecting after-tax income for eligible investors.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026