Last Minute Year-End Strategies To Reduce Taxes On Capital Gains

Here is a list of strategies to reduce taxes on capital gains.

  1. Sell stocks that will give you short term gains (up to 40%) to mitigate the gain against any long-term losses (up to 23.8%)

In other words, make the high taxes wash out by netting them against low-taxed losses, and keep the difference.

  1. Sell long-term trades to create a capital loss deduction of $3,000 against high tax bracket ordinary income.

Note that you are using the 23.8% tax loss rate to mitigate a 40.8% tax rate.

  1. Avoid the wash-sale loss. A wash sale-loss results if you sell a stock at a loss and buy a same or similar stock or security within 30 days of the sale. In case of a wash sale, you do not get to claim the loss and instead, it gets added to the basis of the newly purchased stock.

In order to claim the loss in the current tax year, you need to sell the stock and then sit tight for another 30 days before making another identical purchase.

  1. Donating appreciated securities to a 501(c)(3) organization gives you an incredible tax benefit. Here is how it works:
  • Benefit 1. You deduct the current FMV of the stock as a tax deduction.
  • Benefit 2. There is no capital gain tax on disposal of the appreciated securities.

However, keep in mind that your charitable donation deductions cannot exceed 30 percent of your adjusted gross income. However, if it does, then you can carry forward the excess for up to five years.