Receipt of items considered to be income for a given tax period even though payment is not received until later. For example, a dividend paid and mailed on December 30, 2003, but not received by stockholders until after the first of the following year is considered taxable income for 2003 because the stockholders are considered to have constructive receipt of the dividend.
Main Entry: constructive receipt Function: noun : the receipt of taxable income (as interest on a savings account) that is implied by the income's ready availability to the taxpayer although it has not actually been collected
