The taxable dividend option is accumulation at interest. Life insurance policy dividends are generally treated as a return of excess premium and are not taxable when they do not exceed the policyowner’s cost basis. However, when the insurer holds dividends and credits interest on those accumulated dividends, the interest portion is taxable as ordinary income. The IRS states that life insurance proceeds are generally not includable in gross income, but any interest received is taxable and must be reported as interest. That same tax principle applies to dividend accumulations: the dividend itself may be treated as premium return, but the interest earned on the dividend is taxable. Paid-up additions use dividends to purchase additional insurance; one-year term uses dividends to buy term coverage; return of premium is simply a return of the policyowner’s own premium dollars. Those options are not the taxable item being tested. The exam trigger is the word interest. Reference topics: Life Insurance Dividends, Taxation of Interest, Dividend Options.