It’s time to make peace with capital gains tax

The average investor hates paying taxes—who doesn’t? And yet, long-term investors get some great tax breaks on both their profits and losses. The tax breaks make investing a better after-tax proposition than working for paid income. And at this time of year, investors should be looking at their capital gains totals because they may want to make some moves before […]

Investment tax relief does not end tax planning

Congress has passed a massive tax cut package that gives special relief to investors. Lower capital gains tax rates and an exclusion for stock dividends eases the tax burden on those who realize investment gains in taxable accounts. However, investors still have to manage the tax impact of their investments correctly in order to maximize their gains. Under the new […]

Use investment losses to cut your taxes

Sure, it’s been a miserable couple of years to be a stock investor.  Since the euphoric market highs of March 2000, the stock market has been subject to frequent, gut-wrenching declines, culminating in the sell-off that followed the tragic events of Sept. 11.  A long-term investor who is diversified and focused may feel the pain, but knows he shouldn’t make […]