Altria Group Inc (MO), BP plc (ADR) (BP): Enjoy Years Of Tax-Free Dividends

While BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) has undoubtedly been adversely affected by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, the company has shown measurable progress since then. To date, BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) has paid more than $24 billion in expenses related to the oil spill, and BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) management has estimated it will pay a total of $42 billion to fully resolve its liability for the disaster.

While $42 billion is surely a gigantic sum, a resolution of the ongoing trial represents closure once and for all. Meanwhile, BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) has quietly pumped out rising dividends to shareholders in the interim. After suspending its dividend in the wake of the 2010 spill, due mostly from political pressure as opposed to actual financial reasons, BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) quickly got back in high-dividend mode in early 2011. The company initially resumed its dividend at half the level it was paying pre-spill, but the company has raised the distribution twice since then to its current level.

Ensure your financial future

If you own dividend stocks in a taxable account, you’ll have to pay at least 15% of those distributions in taxes. Depending on your income level, you might even have to pay a higher rate than that going forward.

Some of the market’s best dividend stocks provide yields that trounce the income you’ll produce from traditional bank products like savings accounts or certificates of deposit. As a result, you’ll want to keep as much of those payouts in your own pocket as you can, and the Roth IRA is a great way to do just that.

These stocks provide an average yield of nearly 5% annually, and since these three companies in particular have long track records of raising dividends regularly, you can be sure your portfolio yield will only grow in the future. I own all three of these companies in a Roth IRA, and I would encourage my fellow investors to join me in securing our financial futures.

The article Fund a Roth IRA and Fill it With These Stocks originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Robert Ciura.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.