Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Your 2009 year-end account statement should arrive in late January 2010.

No. Your account statement reports distributions for financial accounting purposes, which may differ from the information required for federal tax purposes. For example, certain distributions declared in December to shareholders of record in such month, but paid in January, are taxable as if they were paid in December.

* The IRS has mandated a Feb. 15 deadline for Form 1099-B; however, Delaware Investments intends to mail Form 1099-B with other forms by Feb. 1.

No, we do not currently offer forms online. However, you may access the information that appears on your tax forms by logging on to Account Access.

Contact the Delaware Investments Shareholder Service Center at 800 523-1918, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern time.

Please contact our Shareholder Service Center at 800 523-1918, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern time.

An IRA transfer to an IRA is a nonreportable event.

Please contact your tax advisor to assist you with this process.

IRS Form 1099-DIV is used to report all dividends and capital gains distributions paid to you (cash or reinvested) by your Delaware Investments funds on non-retirement accounts.

You will not receive IRS Form 1099-DIV if any of the following apply to you:

• Your total dividends for a fund are less than $10
• Your fund did not pay a distribution
• Your account is a retirement account

Although the fund may be tax-exempt, any capital gains distributions, as well as taxable income from temporary investments and other sources, are taxable for federal income tax purposes.

Certain transactions, including options and future transactions, may result in a tax-exempt fund realizing capital gains or losses.

IRS Form 1099-DIV/B will not be mailed if your fund has not paid a taxable distribution.

If, however, your fund has paid a taxable distribution and you have not received your forms, contact our Shareholder Service Center at 800 523-1918, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern time.

You will need to complete IRS Form 1116. Enter RIC on line g and report all income in Part I and all foreign tax passed through in Part II.

For more information on the tax credit and deduction alternative, please consult a tax advisor or see IRS Publication 514, Foreign Tax Credit for Individuals.

IRS Form 1099-DIV is used to report taxable dividends and capital gains. Capital gains and dividends paid to IRA accounts are tax deferred and do not generate reporting.

An IRS Form 1099-R will be mailed to you only when you receive a cash distribution from your IRA(s).

You will not receive cost basis information on your accounts if any of the following statements apply:

• You had no sales or exchanges
• Your account is a retirement or money market account
• Your account was opened prior to 1991
• Your account was transferred from another account prior to 1999
• Your account was established as a result of a fund conversion.

Mutual fund distributions are reported on IRS Form 1099-DIV. Look for this form to arrive by the beginning of February 2010.

This is the date that is used to determine who is eligible to receive a distribution issued by the fund. Shareholders holding shares on the record date are eligible to receive the distribution. Shareholders who purchased their shares after the record date will not receive the distribution.

This is the date that the distribution of dividends or capital gains is deducted from a mutual fund's assets and set aside for payment to shareholders.

IRS Form 1099-DIV will not be mailed if your fund has not paid any taxable distributions.

If you have any questions about whether your dividends are taxable, contact our Shareholder Service Center at 800 523-1918, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern time.

When the fund receives dividends from domestic corporations and qualified foreign corporations, they are considered qualified dividend income.

Qualified dividend income is taxed at rates of 0% or 15% depending on your taxable income bracket.

Please refer to the 2009 IRS Form 1040 instructions for more details.

A return of capital dividend (for tax purposes) is a distribution in excess of tax basis of earnings or profits. These returns of capital distributions are generally not taxed. A return of capital distribution reduces your basis in the shares. Your basis cannot be reduced below zero.

If your basis is zero you must report the return of capital distribution on your tax return as a capital gain.

Profits resulting from the sale of securities are considered capital gains. An investor may realize capital gains when they sell shares, the fund sells securities, or when both occur.

If the fund sells securities and realizes a capital gain, they are passed to the shareholders as distributions. IRS Forms 1099-DIV and 1099-B are used to report these amounts.

When you sell or exchange mutual fund shares, you may realize a short- or long-term taxable capital gain or a capital loss.

Remember that under federal tax law, shares held for more than one year receive long-term capital gain/loss status. Shares that are held for one year or less are treated as a short-term capital gain or loss.

Capital gains in shares held in an IRA, 401(k), or any other tax-deferred investment are not taxed. All other capital gains distributions are taxable, even when reinvested.

Short-term capital gains occur when there are sales of securities in a fund that are held for one year or less. For federal tax purposes, these gains are taxed as ordinary income. Short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income at your marginal tax rate ranging from 10% to 35% under federal income tax rules.

Long-term capital gains occur when there are gains from the sale of securities that are held for more than 12 months. Long-term capital gains from sales will be taxed at 15% (0% if your top marginal rate is 10% or 15%) for taxable accounts.

However, long-term capital gains paid from a REIT attributable to unrecaptured Section 1250 gain is taxed at 25%.

The fund may have realized a capital gain from selling securities within the portfolio of the fund, which must be distributed to the shareholders even though the overall value of the fund may be down.

Cost basis is the price you paid for your shares, including any sales charges.

Your cost basis may not be the same for all shares since the price may have varied if you made purchases at different times. Shares you acquired through reinvested dividends or capital gains are also considered separate purchases and should be included in your calculations.

To help simplify your calculations, we have provided cost basis information on your IRS Form 1099-B if you sold or exchanged shares in 2009 from a taxable account opened in 1993 or later.

Delaware Investments uses the average cost method to prepare your cost basis. The IRS does not require you to use the calculations that we have provided. You should feel free to consult your tax advisor to determine which method is best for you.

Delaware Investments uses average cost method.

The IRS Form 1099-DIV is used to report taxable dividends and capital gains. Capital gains and dividends paid to IRA accounts are tax deferred and they do not generate reporting.

An IRS Form 1099-R will be mailed to you only when you receive a cash distribution from your IRA(s).

An IRA transfer of assets to an IRA is a nonreportable event.

List the amount of foreign taxes paid reported on your IRS Form 1099-DIV with any other deductions on line 8 of IRS Form 1040, Schedule A.

If you received more than one IRS Form 1099-DIV, combine the foreign tax paid and enter the total on Schedule A.

Please note that you must itemize in order to take a foreign tax deduction.

A foreign tax deduction is not available if you use the standard deduction.

No. Because earnings from a tax-qualified plan are not taxable until withdrawn, any foreign taxes paid within a tax-sheltered plan are not eligible for a tax credit or deduction.