When ex-dividend and payment dates happen to cross end-of-year dates, personal accounting and tax consequences may be unusual. Dividend income that happens to be accrued on an ex-dividend date late in December of a given calendar year but paid in January will be reported in the latter tax year, with reporting and filing yet another year or more later. However, if a mutual fund or real estate investment trust (REIT) declares a dividend in October, November, or December that is payable to shareholders of record on a date in one of those months but actually pays the dividend during January of the next calendar year, the dividend is considered to have been received for tax purposes on December 31 of the year it was declared.