
You fund the investment account, and an algorithm keeps your balance growing. Passive income that takes next-to-nothing involvement is the dream. That’s probably a large part of the appeal of robo-advisors. Passive Income Sources With Low Involvement Let’s take a look at the top ways to make passive income based on their levels of involvement. As we said above, not all methods are entirely passive. There are a ton of ways to make passive income. They’re also taxed at different rates than income taxes. Significantly, passive and portfolio income are not subject to Social Security or Medicare taxes. Portfolio income, on the other hand, is dividends, interest and capital gains. Earned income is wages, salary, tips, bonuses, commissions and net gains from self-employment. You only need to meet one to qualify.Īs mentioned earlier, passive income differs from earned income and portfolio income. There are a few more criteria that would qualify a project as material. Likewise if your work in multiple significant participation activities (SPAs), combined, exceeds 500 hours, it counts as material participation. Or if you contributed almost all of the work on a project, it’s considered material involvement. For one, you must work at least 500 hours in a year on the project or more than 100 hours when no one else works more than you. The IRS gives more specific limitations as to what “material participation” means. This means you’re the silent partner, the investor, the person who is not running the show.

Passive Income DefinitionĪs defined by the IRS, passive income is when you make money from an enterprise where you’re not materially involved. If you’re looking to increase your investment income, a financial advisor can help. For a better understanding of passive income and ways to make it, continue reading.

Whether your income is passive or earned really only matters when you’re filing your tax returns (e.g., you can’t claim passive income losses against earned income). That said, the IRS differentiates investment income from passive income, though they are both taxed at capital gains rates.
