How To Avoid Taxes On Stock Gains

Policymakers Should Bolster Irs Enforcement

The U.S. tax system relies on voluntary compliance, high levels of societal trust, and IRS enforcement as a backstop and deterrent. Historically, compliance has been relatively high compared to other countries, but there is an urgent need to rebuild the IRS enforcement function, particularly its ability to ensure that wealthy people pay the taxes they owe.

Policymakers have cut overall IRS enforcement funding by 25 percent since 2010, after adjusting for inflation, and the enforcement division has lost roughly 30 percent of its workforce. These cuts have taken a severe toll. For example, the IRS audited just 3.2 percent of millionaires in 2018, down from 8.4 percent in 2010.

The cuts in IRS enforcement occurred even as highly publicized scandals underscored the lengths to which some wealthy individuals will go to evade taxes. As a report from the Senates Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations noted in 2008:

Each year, the United States loses an estimated $100 billion in tax revenues due to offshore tax abuses. Offshore tax havens today hold trillions of dollars in assets provided by citizens of other countries, including the United States. The extent to which those assets represent funds hidden from tax authorities by taxpayers from the United States and other countries outside of the tax havens is of critical importance.

Stay In A Lower Tax Bracket

If youre a retiree or in a lower tax bracket you may not have to worry about CGT. You can take advantage of other tax deductions to stay below the threshold.

Even if youre in this category, you have to be careful about the amount of assets youre selling at one time combined with your total income to avoid pushing yourself into a higher tax bracket.

In addition, this tax law only applies to federal taxes so you may still have to pay a state income tax. Taking advantage of this tax break may affect your ability to qualify for other tax credits or your social security benefits.

Consider Donating Appreciated Stock

If you have significantly appreciated stock since the time you purchased it, you have a potential tax liability when you ultimately sell those shares. However, filers can avoid that capital gain tax altogether.

If you donate appreciated stock to a qualified charity, you arent subject to capital gains tax on those shares.

This idea can be beneficial if you regularly donate to charities. Donating appreciated stock benefits the charity since they dont have any tax liability on the gift, and it can help you allay a future tax burden. In this case, the charity now owns an asset that has the potential to increase in value, making your gift worth even more.

You can also consider this option in conjunction with a portfolio rebalance. If you donate appreciated shares, you reduce your holding of that asset class, and then you can use the cash to purchase underweighted investments to bring your portfolio back in balance.

You could even donate the shares to a donor-advised fund to receive the same benefit. Then, you can direct payments from the DAF to a qualified charity at a later date.

Donating stock can be a great avenue to itemize deductions. Given the massive increase to the standard deduction via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, you may need to pick and choose years where you want to itemize, and donating could be a great way to get there!

Also Check: What Home Improvement Expenses Are Tax Deductible

Offsetting Gains With Losses

âIf a good part of your portfolio is up in value, while a smaller part is down,â Curtin says, âselling some of those âdownâ investments at a lossâknown as tax-loss harvestingâand claiming the loss on your tax return, could help offset what you owe from your sale of better-performing stocks.â You can generally deduct up to $3,000 of capital losses in excess of capital gains per year from your ordinary income. And if your net capital losses exceed that yearly limit, you can carry over the unused losses to the following year.2

âSelling âdownâ investments at a lossâknown as tax-loss harvestingâand claiming the loss on your tax return, could help offset what you owe from your sale of better-performing stocks.â

But maybe you want to keep some promising but currently struggling investments in your portfolio. In that case, you could consider selling them, harvest the loss, and then buy them again. Just work with your tax professional so that youâre waiting more than 30 days before repurchasingâif you buy substantially similar investments 30 days before or after the initial sale, you might trigger âwash saleâ rules and may not be able to claim the losses on your tax return in that year.

Do You Pay State Taxes On Capital Gains

In general, youll pay state taxes on your capital gains in addition to federal taxes, though there are some exceptions. Most states simply tax your investment income at the same rate that they already charge for earned income, but some tax them differently

Just seven states have no income tax Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Two other states New Hampshire and Tennessee dont tax earned income but do tax investment income, including dividends.

Of states that do levy an income tax, nine of them tax long-term capital gains less than ordinary income. These states include Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin. However, this lower rate may take different forms, including deductions or credits that reduce the effective tax rate on capital gains.

Some other states provide breaks on capital gains taxes only on in-state investments or specific industries.

You May Like: Ein Reverse Lookup Free

Try Qualified Opportunity Funds

The IRS designated certain geographical areas as opportunity zones due to economic distress. An opportunity fund invests in real estate or business development in these areas.

To encourage investors to help spur economic growth, investors can receive tax breaks for investing via an opportunity fund.

Specifically, you can defer the tax due on gains that are reinvested in opportunity funds. The exact amount of your benefit depends on how long you hold the opportunity fund.

However, be aware that there are inherent risks associated with investing in an opportunity fund such as loss of principal or tax rate changes. Remember, the whole premise is to help economically stressed areas, which can be more volatile environments.

These are also relatively new options, so there isnt a lot of history to know how these investments fare over the long term. An investment in an opportunity fund may be best for someone looking for additional ways to diversify their money, receive a tax deduction, and feel good about the help they are providing.

Small Business Stock And Collectibles: 28 Percent Capital Gains Rate

Two categories of capital gains are subject to the 28 percent rate: small business stock and collectibles.

If you realized a gain from qualified small business stock that you held for more than five years, you generally can exclude one-half of your gain from income. The remaining gain is taxed at a 28 percent rate. You can get the specifics on gains on qualified small business stock in IRS Publication 550.

If your gains came from collectibles rather than a business sale, youll also pay the 28 percent rate. This includes proceeds from the sale of:

• A work of art
• Wine or brandy collections

Also Check: Tsc-ind Ct

What Is The 2020 Short

You typically do not benefit from any special tax rate on short-term capital gains. Instead, these profits are usually taxed at the same rate as your ordinary income. This tax rate is based on your income and filing status. Other items to note about short-term capital gains:

• The holding period begins ticking from the day after you acquire the asset, up to and including the day you sell it.
• For 2021, ordinary tax rates range from 10% to 37%, depending on your income and filing status.

Three: Donating Stocks Or Assets Instead Of Cash

If you are planning on making a charitable contribution, why not donate your stocks?

You could sell your high-performing stocks, pay taxes on them, and then donate the money to a charity and finally claim a charitable contribution deduction .

Or, you can make this entire process much simpler by donating stocks instead of money. This way you avoid paying capital gains taxes, still get the tax deduction, and the charity or other non-profit organization of your choice still receives their donation. In addition, the charity may not have to pay any capital gains taxes when they sell the stock.

Also Check: Is Freetaxusa Legitimate

Put Your Investments In The Most Tax

Another way to ensure you’re optimally tax-aware is to double-check that you’re holding investments in the right accounts. Growth assets like stock mutual funds should generally be placed in your taxable account. These funds generate low dividends and derive most of their gains from price appreciation, which are only taxed as sales occur.

Higher-dividend stocks, REITs, and corporate bonds should be placed in tax-advantaged accounts. The logic here is that investments deriving most of their benefit from periodic dividends or interest will generate a tax bill immediately when received in a taxable account if the same investments are held in tax-advantaged accounts, you won’t have any tax burden until you withdraw money.

How To Avoid Paying Taxes When You Sell Stock

One way to avoid paying taxes on stock sales is to sell your shares at a loss. While losing money certainly isn’t ideal, at least losses you incur from selling stocks can be used to offset any profits you made from selling other stocks during the year. And, if your total capital losses exceed your total capital gains for the year, you can deduct up to $3,000 of those losses against your total income for the year.

I know what you’re thinking: No, you can’t sell a bunch of shares at a loss to lower your tax bill and then turn around and buy them right back again. The IRS doesn’t allow this kind of “wash sale” — called by this term because the net effect on your assets is “a wash” — to reduce your tax liability. If you repurchase the same or “substantially similar” stocks within 30 days of the initial sale, it counts as a “wash sale” and can’t be deducted.

Of course, if you end the year in the 0% long-term capital gains bracket, you’ll owe the government nothing on your stock sales. The only other way to avoid tax liability when you sell stock is to buy stocks in a tax-advantaged account.

Don’t Miss: Claiming Home Improvement On Taxes

Invest In An Opportunity Zone

When you invest in an Opportunity Zone fund, you can achieve three substantial tax benefits.

The goal of these funds is to incentivize investments in housing, small businesses, and infrastructure in economically-depressed areas across the US.

Besides capital gains from the sale of stocks, you can also roll the gains from selling other assets, such as real estate and bonds, into an Opportunity Zone investment.

The types of businesses eligible for Opportunity Zone funds are quite wide-ranging, so you can select investments that are low in risk and high in return.

For example, buying older buildings in Opportunity Zones, renovating them at a reinvestment cost, then managing them as rental properties is one of the most high-yielding strategies you can use to take advantage of this new tax bill.

When you purchase real estate in Opportunity Zones, you have the potential to buy properties that are dramatically cheaper than other parts of the the US due to their location.

However, not all opportunity zones are created equal, and there are a number of places, like Puerto Rico for example, that qualify for opportunity zone investing that have huge upside potential as it is a growing tourism destination that commands very high rents.

How Investment Income Is Taxed

You need to include investment income in your tax return. This includes what you earn in:

• interest
• capital gains from property, shares and cryptocurrencies

You pay tax on investment income at your .

Use our income tax calculator to find out your marginal tax rate.

You’re allowed tax deductions for the cost of buying, managing and selling an investment. But there are rules around what you can and can’t claim as a tax deduction. See the Australian Taxation Office ‘s investment income deductions.

Investing and tax can be complex. See choosing an accountant for where to go for help.

Read Also: Cook County Appeal Property Tax

Know Your Tax Brackets

Its no secret that the income and capital gains tax brackets are both progressive, meaning the higher your income, the higher the tax rate.

Worried about capital gains taxes? Here’s how to reduce capital gains tax on stocks.

You should consider where you are in a given tax bracket before you decide to harvest gains or losses. If you are in a lower tax bracket than average, it may make sense to realize capital gains while your tax rate is lower. If you think your income will be lower shortly , then consider waiting until then to sell your stock and realize the gain.

If you are in a higher bracket than usual or close to the top of your current bracket, it may make sense to wait and sell your stocks next year to avoid pushing yourself into the next bracket. You can also accelerate deductions by doing things like making two years worth of charitable contributions in a single year.

Investors with significant capital gains should also watch out for the net investment income tax. The IRS levies a 3.8% tax on investment income including capital gains for those who make over $200,000 if filing single or $250,000 married filing jointly. Keep this tax in mind when looking at what gains to realize in a given tax year.

What Is A Capital Gain Or Capital Loss

In simple terms, a capital gain is an increase in the value of an investment or real estate holding from the original purchase price. If the value of the asset increases, you have a capital gain and you need to pay tax on it. That might sound bad but trust us, making money on your investments is never a bad thing.

Capital gains can be realized or unrealized. A realized capital gain occurs when you sell the investment or real estate for more than you purchased it for. An unrealized capital gain occurs when your investments increase in value, but you havent sold them. The good news is you only pay tax on realized capital gains. In other words, until you lock in the gain by selling the investment, it’s only an increase on paper.

A capital loss occurs when the value of your investment or real estate holding decreases in value. If the current value of the investment or holding is less than the original purchase price, you have a capital loss. Capital losses can be used to offset capital gains and reduce the overall tax you will pay. You can carry capital losses back 3 years or forward into future years.

If you have investments in registered plans such as a Registered Retirement Savings Plan , Registered Retirement Plan or Registered Education Savings Plan , you dont have to worry about capital gains and losses because the investments are tax-sheltered. That means your investments can grow and you dont have to worry about changes in value until you withdraw the funds.

Read Also: Do You Have To Pay Taxes On Plasma Donations

What Is Considered Taxable Income

According to the IRS, income can come in many forms employee compensation, certain fringe benefits, business income, income from investments, tips, partnership income, income from virtual currencies, rental income, royalties the list is very long and even the IRS admits it is not all-inclusive.

Two basic forms of taxable income are active income the second type of income is passive income. This second type of income includes investment income, rental income , or income from a partnership where you are not an active member. A lot of capital gains come from passive income.

An Example Of How The Capital Gains Tax Works

Say you bought 100 shares of XYZ Corp. stock at $20 per share and sold them more than a year later for $50 per share. Lets also assume that you fall into the income category where your long-term gains are taxed at 15%. The table below summarizes how your gains from XYZ stock are affected.

In this example, $450 of your profit will go to the government. But it could be worse. Had you held the stock for one year or less , your profit would have been taxed at your ordinary income tax rate, which can be as high as 37% for tax year 2021. And thats not counting any additional state taxes.

Recommended Reading: How Much Tax For Doordash

Capital Gains Tax: Short

Capital gains taxes are divided into two big groups, short-term and long-term, depending on how long youve held the asset.

Here are the differences:

• Short-term capital gains tax is a tax applied to profits from selling an asset youve held for less than a year. Short-term capital gains taxes are paid at the same rate as youd pay on your ordinary income, such as wages from a job.
• Long-term capital gains tax is a tax applied to assets held for more than a year. The long-term capital gains tax rates are 0 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent, depending on your income. These rates are typically much lower than the ordinary income tax rate.

Sales of real estate and other types of assets have their own specific form of capital gains and are governed by their own set of rules .