Taxable Municipal Bond

A fixed-income security issued by a local government such as a city or county or related agencies, the income from which is not exempt from tax. Taxable municipal bonds are generally issued to finance a project or activity that does not provide a major benefit to the public. In such cases, the federal government will not permit the tax-exemption that is a prominent feature of most municipal bonds.

Most municipal bonds are tax exempt. Since income from such non tax exempt bonds is taxable in the hands of the investor, they offer risk-adjusted yields that are comparable to those available from other taxable entities such as corporate bonds, rather than tax-exempt munis.

Examples of situations where taxable municipal bonds may be issued include financing local sports facilities or funding an under-funded municipal pension plan. Build America Bonds (BABs) are an example of taxable municipal bonds; they were created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and, although taxable, have special tax credits and federal subsidies for either the bond issuer or holder.