CHICAGO — The impending jump in capital-gains taxes has prompted a flood of nervous calls to financial advisers in recent months.
Less than three months remain until the maximum rate of 15 percent on long-term gains rises to 20 percent unless Congress extends the Bush-era tax cuts.
On top of that, the health- care-reform package imposes a new 3.8 percent Medicare tax on the investment income of high-income earners. That means tax bills will increase by more than half, to 23.8 percent, for single filers with incomes of more than $200,000 and couples who make more than $250,000.
The looming increase poses a tempting reason to sell now for anyone who’s sitting on large unrealized gains in stocks, property or other assets. But hastily pulling the trigger on a sale could be a mistake.
A couple of Joe Heider’s clients were in “almost a Chicken Little mode” over the much steeper tax bills they could face, says the regional managing principal of Rehmann Financial Group in Cleveland. One of them, a corporate executive with stock holdings worth several million dollars, wanted to sell all his shares until Heider talked him out of it.
Those inclined to overreact by selling now without analyzing their situation would be wise to heed this Wall Street adage: “Don’t let the tax tail wag the investment dog.” In other words, don’t become preoccupied with taxes at the expense of the ultimate objective.
“Keep in mind that, first and foremost, it’s about making a gain,” says Heider. “The key is making money.”
With that caveat in mind, here are five tips for approaching the possible capital-gains tax hike:
1. Don’t hold a fire sale. Do some basic math, or have a financial adviser do it for you.
“If you’re selling just because rates are going up, think twice,” says Rande Spiegelman, vice president of financial planning in the Schwab Center for Financial Research. “I don’t see selling just to lock in a lower capital-gains rate.”
Start by reviewing your portfolio to determine which investments have risen significantly in value since you purchased them. Think about when you are likely to sell. Then crunch the numbers on how much tax you’d pay by selling now or later.
2. Keep it in perspective. Remember that the past decade has been an era of very low taxation by historical standards. A long-term capital-gains rate of 20 percent starting in 2013 would still be relatively modest. Even the likely worst-case scenario of 23.8 percent for high earners would hardly be dire in comparison with many recent years.
The maximum long-term capital-gains rate was as high as 39.9 percent in the 1970s and 28 percent for a good chunk of the ’80s and ’90s.
3. Accelerate a sale you already were planning. Assuming the price is right, go ahead and sell this year if you were going to do so soon anyway. That’s particularly the case with property or real estate, where the rate increase for capital gains is slightly different, but the same principle applies.
A South Dakota man who had been planning to sell the family ranch he inherited from his parents is pushing the transaction through this fall. Rick Kahler, a certified financial planner in Rapid City, advised him he would probably pay at least $90,000 less in taxes by doing so than by waiting until next year.
4. Watch your bracket. Carefully consider the consequences of any sale on your adjusted gross income.
Selling a substantial amount of assets could drive you into a higher tax bracket than you would have been otherwise, and this would skew your math on tax savings. And you don’t want to trigger the additional 3.8 percent surplus tax on a big chunk of investment income.
5. Preserve your capital losses. Don’t rush to sell if you have capital tax losses carried over from earlier sales.
The technique known as tax-loss harvesting is generally a savvy way to reduce your tax burden. If you have sold shares of a stock or mutual fund for less than you paid, that created a capital loss for tax purposes. It can be used to offset a capital gain that you incurred by selling another stock or fund.
