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Updated for Tax Year 2021 • July 12, 2022 02:22 PM OVERVIEW This guide can help you better understand the different rules that apply to various types of capital gains, which are typically profits made from taxpayers’ sale of assets and investments. Key Takeaways • Profits you make from selling most assets are known as capital gains, and they are generally
taxed at different rates depending on how long you have held the asset. • Gains you make from selling assets you’ve held for a year or less are called short-term capital gains, and they generally are taxed at the same rate as your ordinary income, anywhere from 10% to 37%. • Gains from the sale of assets you’ve held for longer than a year are known as long-term capital gains, and they are typically taxed at lower rates than short-term gains and ordinary income, from 0% to 20%, depending on your taxable income. • If your investments end up losing money rather than generating gains, you can typically use those losses to reduce your taxes. The U.S. Government taxes different kinds of income at different rates. Some types of capital gains, such as profits from the sale of a stock that you have held for a long time, are generally taxed at a more favorable rate than your salary or interest income. However, not all capital gains are treated equally. The tax rate can vary dramatically between short-term and long-term gains. Understanding the capital gains tax rate is an important step for most investors. What is a capital gain?Capital gains are profits you make from selling an asset. Typical assets include businesses, land, cars, boats, and investment securities such as stocks and bonds. Selling one of these assets can trigger a taxable event. This often requires that the capital gain or loss on that asset be reported to the IRS on your income taxes. What's the difference between a short-term and long-term capital gain or loss?Generally, capital gains and losses are handled according to how long you've held a particular asset – known as the holding period. Profits you make from selling assets you’ve held for a year or less are called short-term capital gains. Alternatively, gains from assets you’ve held for longer than a year are known as long-term capital gains. Typically, there are specific rules and different tax rates applied to short-term and long-term capital gains. In general, you will pay less in taxes on long-term capital gains than you will on short-term capital gains. Likewise, capital losses are also typically categorized as short term or long term using the same criteria. What is the 2021 short-term capital gains tax rate?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:
2021 Short-Term Capital Gains Tax Rates
TurboTax Tip: One major exception to the capital gains tax rate on real estate profits is from the sale of your principal residence. If you have owned your home and used it as your main residence for at least two of the last five years prior to selling it, then you can usually exclude up to $250,000 of capital gains on this type of real estate sale if you're single, and up to $500,000 if you're married and filing jointly. What is the 2021 long-term capital gains tax rate?If you hold your assets for longer than a year, you can often benefit from a reduced tax rate on your profits. Those in the lower tax bracket could pay nothing for their capital gains rate, while high-income taxpayers could save as much as 17% off the ordinary income rate, according to the IRS. 2021 Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Rates
What are the exceptions to the capital gains tax rate for long-term gains?One major exception to a reduced long-term capital gains rate applies to collectible assets, such as antiques, fine art, coins, or even valuable vintages of wine. Typically, any profits from the sale of these collectibles will be taxed at 28% regardless of how long you have held the item. Another major exception comes from the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT), which adds a 3.8% surtax to certain investment sales by individuals, estates, and trusts above a set threshold. Typically, this surtax applies to those with high incomes who also have a significant amount of capital gains from investment, interest, and dividend income. What is the capital gains rate for retirement accounts?One of the many benefits of IRAs and other retirement accounts is that you can defer paying taxes on capital gains. Whether you generate a short-term or long-term gain in your IRA, you don’t have to pay any tax until you take money out of the account. The negative side is that all contributions and earnings you withdraw from a taxable IRA or other taxable retirement accounts, even profits from long-term capital gains, are typically taxed as ordinary income. So, while retirement accounts offer tax deferral, they do not benefit from lower long-term capital gains rates. How can capital losses affect your taxes?As previously mentioned, different tax rates apply to short-term and long-term gains. However, if your investments end up losing money rather than generating gains, those losses can affect your taxes as well. However, in this case, you can use those losses to reduce your taxes. The IRS allows you to match up your gains and losses for any given year to determine your net capital gain or loss.
How can you minimize capital gains taxes?There are several ways you can minimize the taxes you pay on capital gains:
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The above article is intended to provide generalized financial information designed to educate a broad segment of the public; it does not give personalized tax, investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always seek the assistance of a professional who knows your particular situation for advice on taxes, your investments, the law, or any other business and professional matters that affect you and/or your business. What is longSelling a capital asset after owning it for less than a year results in a short-term capital gain, which is taxed as ordinary income. Long-term capital gains result from selling capital assets owned for more than one year and are subject to a tax of 0%, 15%, or 20%.
What are the long2021 Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Rates. What is the 2022 shortShort-Term Capital Gains Tax Rates 2022 and 2021. What is the capital gains tax rate for 2023?Capital gains.
The 20% capital gains tax rate applies to adjusted net capital gain over the above 15% maximum amounts.
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