Your Money

SMOKING BREAK The IRS apparently figures that people who live longer pay taxes longer. That might explain why the agency will now allow smokers to deduct the unreimbursed cost of antismoking programs or prescription drugs as a medical expense on their returns--as long as total medical costs exceed 7.5% of gross income. (Nicotine patches and gum don't count.) To make a claim from previous years, file a 1040X amended return.

FUND FLEE With investors taking financial matters into their own hands, how can a mutual fund keep them from deserting? An increasingly popular tactic, according to Financial Research Corp., is to slap them with a fee for making an early exit. More than 300 stock funds now impose a redemption fee, with most levying a 1% to 2% penalty, for bailing within the first three-to-six months. Invesco just instituted a fee on nine funds. Direct-marketed, no-load funds most often use the fees, but Janus and Strong have largely resisted the trend.

RATE-A-TRADE In online trading, speed is of the essence. The time it takes to get a stock can mean the difference between making a killing and getting killed. Now a new Web broker index at tracks how long it takes to place buy orders. Industry leader E*Trade isn't faring too well, but it disputes the measuring tools and notes that it has scored well in other rankings. Still, E*Trade vows to improve.

ONLINE TRADING INDEX, June 7-11

BEST -- Performance (seconds) -- Success Rate
Dreyfus -- 7.64 -- 94.9%
Scottrade -- 8.52 -- 97.8%
Brown & Company -- 12.86 -- 99.2%

WORST: -- Performance (seconds) -- Success Rate
National Discount -- 33.51 -- 90.7%
Ameritrade -- 37.66 -- 96.1%
E*Trade -- 40.51 -- 75.7%

Source: Keynote Systems