How do I find the day count convention for a Bond?

U.S. persons holding securities issued by entities that are domiciled outside of the U.S., but which invest within the U.S. should pay particular attention to our tax withholding obligation in the event of a distribution by the issuer. These entities, which may include Canadian unit trusts, REITS, limited partnerships or other common shares, often distribute dividends and/or interest based on both the U.S. and non-U.S. sourced income. While U.S. persons reporting a valid taxpayer ID number on their Form W-9 are generally exempt from backup withholding on U.S. sourced income, the nature of the custodial arrangement for these particular securities is such that U.S persons may be subject to a withholding tax calculated at a fixed rate of 30% on that portion of the distribution associated with the US-sourced income. This is in addition to any withholding required to be applied to the non-U.S. sourced portion of the distribution as required by the relevant foreign taxing body…

Certain corporate and government bonds, if purchased between coupon payment dates, will trade with accrued interest, meaning that the purchaser pays the seller for any interest accrued since the last payment date. The purchaser, in turn, will receive that amount from the issuer on the following coupon payment date. To reflect this transaction and ensure proper tax reporting of cost basis and interest income, IBKR will post this as a negative interest purchase accrual to the…

The yield for a T bill uses the bond equivalent yield (or 'investment yield') which is based on the settlement date of the trade, and generally uses an Actual/365 day count. Note that the day count can sometimes vary.

Yield = (par value - price) / price * 365 / days until maturity…

A bond is in default when the issuer fails to fulfill its obligations to the bond holder. This can happen when the issuer runs into cash flow problems and, as a result, fails to deliver its interest/coupon or principal payment to the investor. There are times when a default is simply a temporary issue because the issuer is late on payments, and these can be resolved quickly if/when the issuer delivers the late payment. However, defaults can be a sign of deeper cash flow problems and possible bankruptcy. Bonds in default may remain available for trading, but will often trade without accrued interest…