Capital Gains Tax Explained

You bought stock, sold it for a profit, and enjoyed your profits. No problems with that, right? Not so fast. Uncle Sam demands his fair share! Anytime you sell stocks for a gain within a taxable brokerage account, you are responsible for paying capital gains tax. 

Capital gains tax is simply a percentage levied upon the net gains from the proceeds of the sale of securities (like stocks, bonds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs)). The good news is that current rates are rather modest. Moreover, if your income is below certain thresholds, you might not owe any capital gains tax at all.

It’s key to remember that capital gains tax is only owed when you sell for a gain. There is no tax for simply holding shares, and if you liquidate at a loss, you can snatch a tax break which we will detail later. One way to avoid the headaches of capital gains tax is to trade within tax-sheltered accounts. Finally, capital gains tax is not relegated to just financial assets – important rules apply to the sale of real estate, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), jewelry, and other collectibles.

Understanding Capital Gains Tax

Mechanically, only “realized” gains are subject to taxation. That means a taxable event is only triggered once you sell - “unrealized” gains are not affected. It’s also crucial to understand that there are generally two buckets of capital gains tax: short-term and long-term. Short-term gains come as a result of selling an asset for a profit within a year of buying it. The more preferential long-term capital gains tax rate applies to profits booked on investments held for more than one year. So, long-term investors are treated better than short-term daytraders – something to keep in mind if you get the urge to jump in and out of stocks.

It’s easy to see why lawmakers demand that investors pay taxes on what they earn in markets. Consider that many wealthy Americans, like Warren Buffett, earn a significant chunk of their income by way of investing in stocks. Critics argue that wealth made in the stock market comes from money that has already been taxed, so why is it taxed again? After all, seeding companies with capital helps grow the economy and create jobs. To balance these various perspectives, the folks in charge in D.C. have in place relatively low tax rates on capital gains. 

Current Tax Rates: Financial Assets, Collectibles, and Real Estate

Unlike income tax rates and brackets, capital gains tax percentages do not change all that often. The current long-term rates are 0%, 15%, and 20%, depending on your tax bracket. Short-term profits are generally taxed at an investor’s marginal income tax rate. What’s helpful for investors no matter their level of income is that brokerage sites will combine your gains and losses into a single consolidated tax statement that you use for reporting on your 1040 return. 

The current tax structure outlines that short-term losses are offset by any short-term gains, and the same logic applies to long-term transactions. Congress also made it so that certain dividends face the same taxation as capital gains. Thus, many investors end up being indifferent as to the type of investment income they receive. 

2024 Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Rates by Income Level and Filing Status

Figuring out what you owe with traditional investments is rather straightforward, and reporting gains and losses can be a smooth process. Where things get tricky, however, is with alternative assets such as collectibles and real estate. As always, consulting with a tax professional is recommended, but if you sell items such as artwork, jewelry, fine wine, some precious metals, or even trading cards, for a profit, then you might be on the hook for a 28% capital gains tax rate even if your income is low. 

If you are a homeowner, you might be wondering what your tax bill might sum to if you were to sell your house. A primary residence gets a big tax break. You can take a $250,000 exclusion from gains on your principal home, or $500,000 for those married filing jointly. Certain requirements must be met to take advantage of the exclusion, but it’s quite common for families across America to avoid capital gains tax on the sale of property thanks to this provision.

Investment properties are not eligible for the exemption, but depreciation and improvements can reduce what you owe when you look to sell (assuming it is for a gain). With any piece of real estate, there isn’t a capital loss deduction available, though. Both real estate and financial assets are eligible for a “step up” in basis on inherited assets.

How to Calculate Your Capital Tax

Getting back to the world of stocks and bonds, calculating the capital gains tax you owe can be a rather simple process. Simply add up all of your net gains and net losses. Be sure to break them out by short-term and long-term. Most brokerage sites will have a page devoted to your tax information, including all capital gains and losses, dividends, and any other distributions hitting your account. Running through an example helps to grasp the logic:

Let’s say you have total purchases of $10,000 and sales of $12,000. That is a $2,000 realized gain for the year. Suppose $1,000 of that is considered short-term – you then owe taxes based on your marginal income tax rate. We’ll call that 22%. Your total short-term capital gains tax is $220. 

As for the $1,000 in the long-term capital gains bucket, you owe 15% on that, which is $150. As you can see, short-term profits were taxed more punitively than long-term sales. For this reason, delaying realizing profits to get them into the long-term category is a common strategy.

How to Avoid Owing Capital Gains Tax

Tax avoidance is always a good thing (it is tax evasion that is a big no-no). There are several techniques you can put into practice that may reduce your capital gains tax burden. 

1. Invest for the long haul. Since the tax rate on long-term capital gains is often lower than the rate on short-term gains, keep your investment time horizon in years or more and avoid selling at a gain within a one-year window.

2. Take advantage of tax-sheltered accounts. All of these nuanced capital gains tax rules do not apply to investments sold within tax-favored accounts like Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), 401(k)s, and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). You can buy and sell to your heart’s content in those accounts and not have to worry about running up a capital gains tax bill.

3. Harvest your losses. If you are trading in a regular brokerage account, you can avoid owing capital gains tax by strategically selling losing positions, thereby realizing losses to offset existing gains. The IRS also allows investors up to $3,000 per year in losses that can be deducted from income (the same $3,000 goes for those married filing jointly). Furthermore, you may carry forward losses above the $3,000 yearly limit into future tax years.

4. Tax gain harvesting is a thing. Suppose you have a relatively low income in a given year. That can be an ideal time to sell your winners since you might qualify for the 0% capital gains tax rate. Early retirees often do this before Social Security income kicks in. But harvesting losses isn’t always the right move.

5. Avoid holding mutual funds in taxable accounts. Be wary of owning actively managed mutual funds in a non-retirement account. These funds may be required to distribute a chunk of their capital gains to shareholders around the end of the year – you don’t want to be surprised by that. Owning ETFs and individual stocks in taxable accounts can reduce this risk.

Being a Tax-Savvy Investor

The above techniques can go a long way toward reducing your overall tax bill. Always remember, however, that owing capital gains tax is a consequence, not a tragedy. As Wall Street likes to say, “Don’t let the tax tail wag the investment dog.” That means capital gains tax should not be the primary driver of your buy and sell decisions. All too often an investor will take on too much portfolio risk simply based on tax avoidance.

Still, being mindful of tax optimization techniques is smart. For example, the wash-sale rule commonly trips up novice investors. Buying back a stock you sold for a loss within a 30-day window might negate your ability to claim the sale as a capital loss. Another tip – you can select positions to sell for a loss based on their “cost basis” amount, or what you paid for the securities. The higher the basis, the lower your potential capital gain might be. In the end, simple periodic investing and dollar-cost averaging over time can avoid unnecessary sales and be the winning strategy for most young investors.

At Allio, we provide tax optimization techniques tailored to your income needs. Tax-loss harvesting strategies and a personalized approach are important factors for our portfolio managers when they are allocating capital. The goal is to ensure you keep more of your hard-earned money.

The Bottom Line

There is a lot to know about capital gains taxes. There are various rates based on a position’s holding period and your level of income. What’s more, different types of assets have different rules. Big picture, if you grasp a few of the basic rules, your year-end capital gains tax bill can be reduced, making you a tax-savvy investor.