Tag Archives: Tax Gain Harvesting

2024 Year-End Tax Planning

It’s that time of year again. The air is cool and the Election is in the rear-view mirror. That can only mean one thing when it comes to personal finance: time to start thinking about year-end tax planning.

I’ll provide some commentary about year-end tax planning to consider, with headings corresponding to the timeframe required to execute.

As always, none of this is advice for your particular situation but rather it is educational information.

Urgent

By urgent, I mean those items that (i) need to happen before year-end and (ii) may not happen if taxpayers delay and try to accomplish them late in the year.

Donor Advised Fund Contributions

The donor advised fund is a great way to contribute to charity and accelerate a tax deduction. My favorite way to use the donor advised fund is to contribute appreciated stock directly to the donor advised fund. This gets the donor three tax benefits: 1) a potential upfront itemized tax deduction, 2) removing the unrealized capital gain from future income tax, and 3) removing the income produced by the assets inside the donor advised fund from the donor’s tax return.

In order to get the first benefit in 2024, the appreciated stock must be received by the donor advised fund prior to January 1, 2025. This deadline is no different than the normal charitable contribution deadline.

However, due to much year end interest in donor advised fund contributions and processing time, different financial institutions will have different deadlines on when transfers must be initiated in order to count for 2024. Donor advised fund planning should be attended to sooner rather than later.

Taxable Roth Conversions

For a Roth conversion to count as being for 2024, it must be done before January 1, 2025. That means New Year’s Eve is the deadline. However, taxable Roth conversions should be done well before New Year’s Eve because

It requires analysis to determine if a taxable Roth conversion is advantageous,
If advantageous, the proper amount to convert must be estimated, and
The financial institution needs time to execute the Roth conversion so it counts as having occurred in 2024.

Remember, generally speaking it is not good to have federal and/or state income taxes withheld when doing Roth conversions!

Gotta Happen Before 2026!!!

Before the Election, many commentators said “you’ve gotta get your Roth conversions done before tax rates go up in 2026!” If this were X (the artist formerly known as Twitter), the assertion would likely be accompanied by a hair-on-fire GIF. 😉

I have disagreed with the assertion. As I have stated before, there’s nothing more permanent than a temporary tax cut! Now with a second Trump presidency and a Republican Congress, it is likely that the higher standard deduction and rate cuts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will be extended.

Regardless of the particulars of 2025 tax changes, I recommend that you make your own personal taxable Roth conversion decisions based on your own personal situation and analysis of the landscape and not a fear of future tax hikes.

Adjust Withholding

This varies, but it is a good idea to look at how much tax you owed last year. If you are on pace to get 100% (110% if 2023 AGI is $150K or greater) or slightly more of that amount paid into Uncle Sam by the end of the year (take a look at your most recent pay stub), there’s likely no need for action. But what if you are likely to have much more or much less than 100%/110%? It may be that you want to reduce or increase your workplace withholdings for the rest of 2024. If you do, don’t forget to reassess your workplace withholdings for 2024 early in the year.

One great way to make up for underwithholding is through an IRA withdrawal mostly directed to the IRS and/or a state taxing agency. Just note that for those under age 59 ½, this tactic may require special planning.

Backdoor Roth IRA Diligence

The deadline for the Backdoor Roth IRA for 2024 is not December 31st, as I will discuss below. But if you have already completed a Backdoor Roth IRA for 2023, the deadline to get to a zero balance in all traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs is December 31, 2024.

Solo 401(k) Planning

There’s plenty of planning that needs to be done for solopreneurs in terms of retirement account contributions.

The Solo 401(k) can get complicated. That’s why I wrote a book about them and post an annual update on Solo 401(k)s here on the blog.

Year-End Deadline

These items can wait till close to year-end, though you don’t want to find yourself doing them on New Year’s Eve.

Tax Gain Harvesting

For those finding themselves in the 12% or lower federal marginal income tax bracket and with an asset in a taxable account with a built-in gain, tax gain harvesting prior to December 31, 2024 may be a good tax tactic to increase basis without incurring additional federal income tax. Remember, though, the gain itself increases one’s taxable income, making it harder to stay within the 12% or lower marginal income tax bracket.

I’m also quite fond of tax gain harvesting that reallocates one’s portfolio in a tax efficient manner.

Tax Loss Harvesting

The deadline for tax loss harvesting for 2024 is December 31, 2024. Just remember to navigate the wash sale rule.

RMDs from Your Own Retirement Account

The deadline to take any required minimum distributions from one’s own retirement account is December 31, 2024. Remember, the rules can get a bit confusing. Generally, IRAs can be aggregated for RMD purposes, but 401(k)s cannot.

RMDs from Inherited Accounts

The deadline to take any RMDs from inherited retirement accounts is December 31st. For some beneficiaries of retirement accounts inherited during 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, the IRS has waived 2024 RMDs. That said, all beneficiaries of inherited retirement accounts may want to consider affirmatively taking distributions (in addition to RMDs, if any) before the end of 2024 to put the income into a lower tax year, if 2024 happens to be a lower taxable income year vis-a-vis future tax years.

Can Wait Till Next Year

Traditional IRA and Roth IRA Contribution Deadline

The deadline for funding either or both a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA for 2024 is April 15, 2025.

Backdoor Roth IRA Deadline

There’s no law saying “the deadline for the Backdoor Roth IRA is DATE X.” However, the deadline to make a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution for the 2024 tax year is April 15, 2025. Those doing the Backdoor Roth IRA for 2024 and doing the Roth conversion step in 2025 may want to consider the unique tax filing when that happens (what I refer to as a “Split-Year Backdoor Roth IRA”).

HSA Funding Deadline

The deadline to fund an HSA for 2024 is April 15, 2025. Those who have not maximized their HSA through payroll deductions during the year may want to look into establishing payroll withholding for their HSA so as to take advantage of the payroll tax break available when HSAs are funded through payroll.

The deadline for those age 55 and older to fund a Baby HSA for 2024 is April 15, 2025.

2025 Tax Planning at the End of 2024

HDHP and HSA Open Enrollment

It’s open enrollment season. Now is a great time to assess whether a high deductible health plan (a HDHP) is a good medical insurance plan for you. One of the benefits of the HDHP is the health savings account (an HSA).

For those who already have a HDHP, now is a good time to review payroll withholding into the HSA. Many HSA owners will want to max this out through payroll deductions so as to qualify to reduce both income taxes and payroll taxes.

Self-Employment Tax Planning

FI Tax Guy can be your financial planner! Find out more by visiting mullaneyfinancial.com

Follow me on Twitter at @SeanMoneyandTax

This post is for entertainment and educational purposes only. It does not constitute accounting, financial, legal, investment, or tax advice. Please consult with your advisor(s) regarding your personal accounting, financial, legal, investment, and tax matters. Please also refer to the Disclaimer & Warning section found here.

2023 Year-End Tax Planning

It’s that time of year again. The air is crisp and my favorite football team is surging. That can only mean one thing when it comes to personal finance: time to start thinking about year-end tax planning.

I’ll break it down with three categories: Urgent, Year-End Deadline, and Can Wait Till Next Year. I will also provide some thoughts on 2024 tax planning that can/should be done before year-end in 2023.

As always, none of this is advice for your particular situation but rather it is educational information.

Urgent

By urgent, I mean those items that (i) need to happen before year-end and (ii) may not happen if taxpayers delay and try to accomplish them late in the year.

Donor Advised Fund Contributions

A tax deduction for the fair market value of the contributed appreciated stock,
Elimination of the built-in capital gain on the contributed appreciated stock, and
Tax-free treatment of the income earned inside the donor advised fund.

In order to get the first benefit in 2023, the appreciated stock must be received by the donor advised fund prior to January 1, 2024. This deadline is no different than the normal charitable contribution deadline.

However, due to much year end interest in donor advised fund contributions and processing time, different financial institutions will have different deadlines on when transfers must be initiated in order to count for 2023. Donor advised fund planning should be attended to sooner rather than later.

Taxable Roth Conversions

For a Roth conversion to count as being for 2023, it must be done before January 1, 2024. That means New Year’s Eve is the deadline. However, taxable Roth conversions should be done well before New Year’s Eve because

It requires analysis to determine if a taxable Roth conversion is advantageous,
If advantageous, the proper amount to convert must be estimated, and
The financial institution needs time to execute the Roth conversion so it counts as having occurred in 2023.

Remember, generally speaking it is not good to have federal and/or state income taxes withheld when doing Roth conversions!

Roth Conversion Example: See slides 8 through 10 of this slide deck for an example of a Roth conversion in retirement. You might be surprised by just how little federal income tax is owed on a $23,000 Roth conversion.

Example Where I Disfavor Roth Conversions: I present an example of a 73-year old married couple with $400K in deferred retirement accounts and $87K in 2023 gross income. I would not recommend they do end-of-year Roth conversions. This spreadsheet computes the taxable Social Security with and without a $10K Roth conversion.

Gotta Happen Before 2026!!!

You will hear many commentators say “do more Roth conversions before tax rates go up in 2026!” If this were X (the artist formerly known as Twitter), the assertion would likely be accompanied by a hair-on-fire GIF. 😉

I disagree with the assertion. As I have stated before, there’s nothing more permanent than a temporary tax cut. You do your own risk assessment, but mine is this: members of Congress like to win reelection, and they are not going to want to face voters without having acted to ensure popular tax cuts, such as the reduction of the 15% tax rate down to 12% and the increased standard deduction, are extended.

I recommend that you make your own personal taxable Roth conversion decisions based on your own personal situation and analysis of the landscape and not a fear of future tax hikes.

Learn all about the Pro-Rata Rule here.

Adjust Withholding

This varies, but it is a good idea to look at how much tax you owed last year (line 24 on the Form 1040). If you are on pace to get 100% (110% if 2022 AGI is $150K or greater) or slightly more of that amount paid into Uncle Sam by the end of the year (take a look at your most recent pay stub), there’s likely no need for action. But what if you are likely to have much more or much less than 100%/110%? It may be that you want to reduce or increase your workplace withholdings for the rest of 2023. If you do, don’t forget to reassess your workplace withholdings for 2024 early in the year.

Backdoor Roth IRA Diligence

The deadline for the Backdoor Roth IRA for 2023 is not December 31st, as I will discuss below. But if you have already completed a Backdoor Roth IRA for 2023, the deadline to get to a zero balance in all traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs is December 31, 2023.

Solo 401(k) Planning

There’s plenty of planning that needs to be done for solopreneurs in terms of retirement account contributions. Even though Schedule C solopreneurs can now establish a Solo 401(k) after year-end (up to April 15th), it is absolutely the case that it is better to do the planning upfront. For those Schedule C solopreneurs with a Solo 401(k) established, December 31st is the deadline to make 2023 employee deferral contributions or make a 2023 deferral election as an alternative to making the payments in 2023. December 31st is also the 2023 employee deferral contribution for solopreneurs operating out of S corporations.

The Solo 401(k) can get complicated. That’s why I wrote a book about them and post an annual update on Solo 401(k)s here on the blog.

Year-End Deadline

These items can wait till close to year-end, though you don’t want to find yourself doing them on New Year’s Eve.

Tax Gain Harvesting

For those finding themselves in the 12% or lower federal marginal income tax bracket and with an asset in a taxable account with a built-in gain, tax gain harvesting prior to December 31, 2023 may be a good tax tactic to increase basis without incurring additional federal income tax. Remember, though, the gain itself increases one’s taxable income, making it harder to stay within the 12% or lower marginal income tax bracket.

I’m also quite fond of tax gain harvesting that reallocates one’s portfolio in a tax efficient manner.

Tax Gain Harvesting Example: See slide 15 of this slide deck for an example of tax gain harvesting in retirement.

Tax Loss Harvesting

The deadline for tax loss harvesting for 2023 is December 31, 2023. Just remember to navigate the wash sale rule.

RMDs from Your Own Retirement Account

The deadline to take any required minimum distributions from one’s own retirement account is December 31, 2023. Remember, the rules can get a bit confusing. Generally, IRAs can be aggregated for RMD purposes, but 401(k)s cannot.

RMDs from Inherited Accounts

The deadline to take any RMDs from inherited retirement accounts is December 31st. For some beneficiaries of retirement accounts inherited during 2020, 2021, and 2022, the IRS has waived 2023 RMDs. That said, all beneficiaries of inherited retirement accounts may want to consider affirmatively taking distributions (in addition to RMDs, if any) before the end of 2023 to put the income into a lower tax year, if 2023 happens to be a lower taxable income year vis-a-vis future tax years.

Can Wait Till Next Year

Traditional IRA and Roth IRA Contribution Deadline

The deadline for funding either or both a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA for 2023 is April 15, 2024.

Backdoor Roth IRA Deadline

There’s no law saying “the deadline for the Backdoor Roth IRA is DATE X.” However, the deadline to make a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution for the 2023 tax year is April 15, 2024. Those doing the Backdoor Roth IRA for 2023 and doing the Roth conversion step in 2024 may want to consider the unique tax filing when that happens (what I refer to as a “Split-Year Backdoor Roth IRA”).

HSA Funding Deadline

The deadline to fund an HSA for 2023 is April 15, 2024. Those who have not maximized their HSA through payroll deductions during the year may want to look into establishing payroll withholding for their HSA so as to take advantage of the payroll tax break available when HSAs are funded through payroll.

The deadline for those age 55 and older to fund a Baby HSA for 2023 is April 15, 2024.

2024 Tax Planning at the End of 2023

HDHP and HSA Open Enrollment

Self-Employment Tax Planning

Year-end is a great time for solopreneurs, particularly newer solopreneurs, to assess their business structure and retirement plans. Perhaps 2024 is the year to open a Solo 401(k). Perhaps their business is growing such that an S corporation election makes sense. The best time to be thinking about these sorts of things for 2024 is late in 2023. Often this analysis benefits from professional consultations.

Additional Resource

Please see my November 11, 2023 ChooseFI Orange County year-end tax planning presentation slide deck.

FI Tax Guy can be your financial planner! Find out more by visiting mullaneyfinancial.com

Follow me on Twitter at @SeanMoneyandTax

2022 Year-End Tax Planning

Below are the main tax planning items for the year 2022 as I see them. Of course, this is educational information for the reader, and not tax advice directed toward any particular individual.

The first two tax loss harvesting items are particularly unique to 2022 vis-a-vis recent years.

Tax Loss Harvesting

2022 has given us plenty of lemons. For some Americans, it’s time to make some lemonade through tax loss harvesting. The deadline to do this and obtain a benefit on one’s 2022 tax return is December 31, 2022.

Tax Loss Harvesting and Bonds

There is a tax loss harvesting opportunity in 2022 that has not existed in recent years to the scope and scale it exists today: tax loss harvesting with bonds and bond funds. In a recent post I went into that opportunity in detail and how it might create both a great tax loss harvesting opportunity and a great tax basketing opportunity.

Tax Loss Harvesting Crypto

Many cryptocurrencies have declined in value. This can create a tax loss harvesting opportunity, regardless of whether the taxpayer wants to remain invested in crypto. To harvest the loss if one wants to get out of crypto, it’s easy: just sell the asset. For those wanting to stay in crypto, it’s not that much harder: sell the crypto (by December 31, 2022 if wanting the loss on their 2022 tax return) and they rebuy the crypto shortly thereafter. Crypto is not a “security” for wash sale purposes, and thus, repurchases of crypto are not subject to the wash sale rule, regardless of when they occur.

Solo 401(k) Establishment

Quick Update 12/23/2022: My initial reading of SECURE 2.0 is that it does not change any 2022 Solo 401(k) deadlines. The one deadline it appears to change is effective starting for plan years beginning in 2023.

For Schedule C solopreneurs looking to make a 2022 employee contribution to a Solo 401(k), the Solo 401(k) must be established by December 31, 2022. This is NOT the sort of thing you want to try to do on December 30th. Almost certainly those trying to establish a Solo 401(k) will want to act well before the end of December, as it takes time to get the Solo 401(k) established prior to year-end.

The deadline to establish a Solo 401(k) for an employer contribution is the tax return filing deadline. For individuals, this is April 18, 2023, but can be extended to October 15, 2023. For S corporations, this is March 15, 2023, but can be extended to September 15, 2023.

Solo 401(k) Funding for Schedule C Solopreneurs

Employee elective deferral contributions (traditional and/or Roth) must meet one of two standards. Either (i) they must be made by December 31st or (ii) they are elected by December 31st and made by the tax return filing deadline, including any filed extensions.

Employer contributions must be made by the tax return filing deadline, including any filed extensions.

Roth Conversions

Taxpayers with lower income (relative to the rest of their lives) may want to consider taxable conversions of traditional retirement accounts to Roth accounts. The deadline to get the Roth conversion on one’s 2022 tax return is December 31st, though it is not wise to wait until the last minute.

For the self-employed, there may be a unique opportunity to use Roth conversions to optimize the qualified business income deduction.

Tax Gain Harvesting

For those finding themselves in the 12% or lower federal marginal income tax bracket and with an asset in a taxable account with a built-in gain, tax gain harvesting prior to December 31, 2022 may be a good tax tactic to increase basis without incurring additional federal income tax. Remember, though, the gain itself increases one’s taxable income, making it harder to stay within the 12% or lower marginal income tax bracket.

HSA Funding Deadline

The deadline to fund an HSA for 2022 is April 18, 2023. Those who have not maximized their HSA through payroll deductions during the year may want to look into establishing payroll withholding for their HSA so as to take advantage of the payroll tax break available when HSAs are funded through payroll.

The deadline for those age 55 and older to fund a Baby HSA for 2022 is April 18, 2023.

Roth IRA Contribution Deadline

The deadline for funding a Roth IRA for 2022 is April 18, 2023.

Backdoor Roth IRA

There’s no law saying “the deadline for the Backdoor Roth IRA is DATE X.” However, the deadline to make a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution for the 2022 tax year is April 18, 2023. Those doing the Backdoor Roth IRA for 2022 and doing the Roth conversion step in 2023 may want to consider the unique tax filing when that happens (what I refer to as a “Split-Year Backdoor Roth IRA”).

Anyone who has already completed a Backdoor Roth IRA for 2022 should consider New Year’s Eve. December 31st is the deadline to be “clean” for 2022. Anyone who has done the Roth conversion step of a Backdoor Roth IRA during 2022 will want to consider (to the extent possible and desirable) “cleaning up” all traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs as of December 31, 2022.

Charitable Contributions

The deadline to make charitable contributions that can potentially be deducted on one’s 2022 tax return is December 31, 2022. Planning in this regard could include contributions to donor advised funds. If one is considering establishing a donor advised fund to get a deduction in 2022, I recommend moving well before December 31st, since it takes time for financial institutions to process donations and establish donor advised funds.

RMDs from Your Own Retirement Account

The deadline to take any required minimum distributions from one’s own retirement account is December 31, 2022. Remember, the rules can get a bit confusing. Generally, IRAs can be aggregated for RMD purposes, but 401(k)s cannot.

RMDs from Inherited Accounts

The deadline to take any RMDs from inherited retirement accounts is December 31st. For some beneficiaries of retirement accounts inherited during 2020 and 2021, the IRS has waived 2022 RMDs. That said, all beneficiaries of inherited retirement accounts may want to consider affirmatively taking distributions (in addition to RMDs, if any) before the end of 2022 to put the income into a lower tax year, if 2022 happens to be a lower taxable income year vis-a-vis future tax years.

FI Tax Guy can be your financial planner! Find out more by visiting mullaneyfinancial.com

Follow me on Twitter at @SeanMoneyandTax

Tax Planning for Inflation

In recent years, inflation existed but was not significant. Significant inflation was associated with wide lapels and eight-track tapes and thought to be left behind in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

But, sure enough, significant inflation is back. Inflation is 6.2 percent for the 12 months ending October 2021.

Inflation has a tax angle. How does one use tax planning to minimize the impact of inflation? In this post, I review the issues associated with inflation and tactics to consider if one is concerned about inflation.

Inflation: The Tax Problem

Inflation increases the nominal (i.e., stated) value of assets without a corresponding increase in the real value of the asset. Here is an example:

Larry buys $100,000 worth of XYZ Mutual Fund on January 1, 2022. During the year 2022, there is 10 percent inflation. On January 1, 2023, the XYZ Mutual Fund is worth $110,000. Inflation-adjusted, the position has the same real value as it did when Larry purchased it. However, were Larry to sell the entire position, he would trigger a $10,000 capital gain ($110,000 sales price less $100,000 tax basis), which would be taxable to him.

Hopefully you see the problem: Larry has not experienced a real increase in wealth. Larry’s taxable “gain” is not a gain. Rather, it is simply inflation! Larry will pay tax on inflation if he sells the asset. Ouch!

While inflation increases the nominal value of assets, there is no inflation adjustment to tax basis! Thus, inflation creates artificial gains subject to income tax.

There are other tax problems with inflation. Inflation artificially increases amounts received as wages, self-employment income, interest, dividends, and retirement plan distributions. Those artificial increases are not real increases in income (as they do not represent increases in value) but they are subject to income tax as though they were real increases in income.

The tax law does provide some remedy to address the problem of taxing inflation. The IRS provides inflation adjustments to increase the size of progressive tax brackets. In addition, the standard deduction is adjusted annually for inflation. Recently the IRS released the inflation adjustments for 2022.

IRS inflation adjustments are helpful, but they do not excuse inflation from taxation. Rather, they only soften the blow. Thus, they are not a full cure for the tax problems caused by inflation.

Inflation and Traditional Retirement Accounts

Inflation is detrimental to traditional retirement accounts such as pre-tax 401(k)s and IRAs. Holding assets inside a traditional retirement account subjects the taxpayer to income tax on the growth in the assets caused by inflation.

Inflation artificially increases amounts in these accounts that will ultimately be subject to taxation. Inflation can also limit the opportunity to do Roth conversions in early retirement. Greater balances to convert from traditional to Roth accounts and increased dividend, capital gain, and interest income triggered by inflation makes early retiree Roth conversion planning more challenging.

Inflation and Real Estate

There are several tax benefits of rental real estate. One of the main benefits is depreciation. For residential real estate, the depreciable basis is deducted in a straight-line over 27.5 years. For example, if the depreciable basis of a rental condo is $275,000, the annual depreciation tax deduction (for 27.5 years) is $10,000 (computed as $275,000 divided by 27.5). That number rarely changes, as most of the depreciable basis is determined at the time the property is purchased or constructed.

Over time, inflation erodes the value of depreciation deductions. Inflation generally increases rental income, but the depreciation deduction stays flat nominally and decreases in real value. Increasing inflation reduces the tax benefits provided by rental real estate.

Planning Techniques

There are planning techniques that can protect taxpayers against the tax threat posed by inflation.

Roth Contributions and Conversions

Inflation is yet another tax villain the Roth can slay. Tax free growth inside a Roth account avoids the tax on inflation.

Once inside a Roth, concerns about inflation increasing taxes generally vanish. Properly planned, Roths provide tax free growth and tax free withdrawals. Thus, Roths effectively eliminate the concern about paying tax on inflation.

For those thinking of Roth conversions, inflation concerns point to accelerating Roth conversions. The sooner amounts inside traditional retirement accounts are converted to Roth accounts, the less exposure the amounts have to inflation taxes.

Roth contributions and conversions provide tax insurance against the threat of inflation. For those very concerned about inflation, this consideration moves the needle toward the Roth in the ongoing Roth versus traditional debate.

Watch me discuss using Roth accounts to help manage an investor’s exposure to inflation.

Health Savings Accounts

A Health Savings Account, like its Roth IRA cousin, offers tax free growth. HSAs also protect against taxes on inflation. Inflation is another argument to take advantage of an HSA.

Basis Step Up Planning

There is another tax planning opportunity that can wipe away the taxes owed on years of inflation: the basis step up at death. At death, heirs receive a basis in inherited taxable assets which is usually the fair market value of the assets on the date of death. For taxable assets, death provides an opportunity to escape the tax on inflation.

It is important to note that traditional retirement accounts do not receive a basis step up. Inflation inside a traditional retirement account will eventually be subject to tax (either to the original owner or to a beneficiary after the original owner’s death).

During one’s lifetime, there is the tax gain harvesting opportunity to step up basis and reduce inflation taxes. The tactic is to sell and repurchase an investment with a built-in gain at a time when the investor does not pay federal income tax on the capital gain. If one can keep their marginal federal income tax rate in the 12% or lower marginal tax bracket, they can pay a 0% federal income tax rate on the gain and “reset” the basis to the repurchase price of the sold and then repurchased asset.

There is a second flavor of tax gain harvesting: triggering a capital gain (at an advantageous time from a tax perspective) by selling an asset and reinvesting the proceeds in a more desirable asset (essentially, investment reallocation).

One inflation consideration with respect to tax gain harvesting: as inflation increases interest and dividends, there will be less room inside the 12 percent taxable income bracket to create capital gains that are federal income tax free.

Conclusion

Inflation is yet another tax planning consideration. As we are now in a period of significant inflation, taxpayers and advisors will need to weigh inflation’s potential impact on tax strategies.

None of the above is advice for any particular taxpayer. Hopefully it provides some educational background to help assess the tax impact of inflation and consider tactical responses to inflation.

FI Tax Guy can be your financial planner! Find out more by visiting mullaneyfinancial.com

Follow me on Twitter: @SeanMoneyandTax

This post is for entertainment and educational purposes only. It does not constitute accounting, financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Please consult with your advisor(s) regarding your personal accounting, financial, investment, legal, and tax matters. Please also refer to the Disclaimer & Warning section found here.

Tax Gain Harvesting

Last week’s post addressed the concept of tax loss harvesting – selling stock or securities (in a taxable account) to create a beneficial tax loss. This post addresses tax gain harvesting – selling stock or securities (in a taxable account) to create a beneficial tax gain.

Beneficial tax gain? How could it be good to create a taxable gain?

Fortunately, not all taxable gains create federal income tax. Below I discuss two scenarios where incurring a taxable gain may not increase a taxpayer’s current tax liability and would have other favorable consequences.

0% Capital Gains Tax

Under current law, some taxpayers pay a 0% federal income tax rate on long-term capital gains. Based on the new tax numbers effective after tax reform, more and more taxpayers will find themselves in relatively low marginal tax brackets.

Single taxpayers with a taxable income of $39,475 or less and married filing joint (“MFJ”) taxpayers with a taxable income of $78,950 are currently (using 2019 numbers) subject to a 0 percent federal long-term capital gains tax rate. Because the calculation is based on taxable income and not adjusted gross income, taxpayers get the benefit of the standard deduction (or itemized deductions, if greater). Thus, single taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $51,675 (including a standard deduction of $12,200) or less and MFJ taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $103,350 (including the $24,400 standard deduction) or less qualify for the 0% federal capital gains.

This presents a great planning opportunity if the taxpayer has an appreciated security (such as a stock, bond, mutual fund, or ETF). Here is an illustrative example:

Example 1: Joe and Mary file their 2019 tax return MFJ. In 2019 Joe and Mary will together have $81,000 of W-2 wages. They have $1,000 of interest and dividends. They take the standard deduction (which is $24,400 for MFJ in 2019). Thus, their 2019 taxable income is $57,600 ($81,000 plus $1,000 less $24,400). Assume Joe and Mary own 100 shares of Acme Corp., which they purchased five years ago for $10 per share ($1,000 total). Assume further that the stock is worth $11,000 on December 1, 2019. Joe and Mary could sell the stock on December 1st, realize a taxable gain of $10,000 ($11,000 less $1,000 cost basis), thus increasing their taxable income to $67,600.

Since their taxable income is still $78,950 or less, the entire $10,000 capital gain is subject to the 0 percent federal capital gains tax. This result obtains regardless of whether Joe and Mary purchase 100 Acme shares two days later for $11,000. Unlike tax loss harvesting, which is subject to the wash sale rules, there are no wash sale rules as applied to taxable gains.

Why might Joe and Mary sell at a tax-free gain and then repurchase? While they don’t pay tax, they don’t save on their 2019 taxes. However, the sale/repurchase significantly increases their tax basis and decreases the taxable gain they will have on a future sale of Acme stock. There’s no way to know if a future sale of Acme stock will be subject to a 0 percent federal capital gains tax rate. By tax gain harvesting, Joe and Mary have dramatically increased their basis in the Acme stock from $1,000 to $11,000 tax-free. Thus, a future taxable sale will incur much less tax.

If, alternatively, Joe and Mary decide that they want to exit their Acme stock holding (thinking that perhaps its meteoric rise has concluded), tax gain harvesting provides them with a tax-free exit. Tax gain harvesting, if you qualify for a 0 percent capital gains tax rate, provides a way to reallocate your portfolio’s holdings without paying federal capital gains tax on appreciated holdings.

Caveats

Three caveats about tax gain harvesting are worth mentioning. First, the determination of whether your taxable income is low enough to qualify for the 0 percent capital gains rate includes the gain itself. Referencing Joe and Mary, if instead of $81,000 of W-2 wages, they had $100,000 of W-2 wages, their tax gain harvesting opportunity is dramatically decreased. In this case, their taxable income before the gain ($76,700 – computed as $100,000 plus $1,000 less $24,400)) appears to qualify for the 0 percent capital gains rate, once you add the $10,000 gain, the taxable income is $86,600, and the gain no longer qualifies for the 0 percent capital gains tax rate.

Second, the gain causes your “adjusted gross income” and “modified adjusted gross income” to increase, and thus have negative consequences on other preferential tax items, including deductions, credits, and qualifying for certain tax benefits. In some cases it may be worth it to run the numbers through a tax forecasting program and/or consult with a professional advisor before pulling the trigger to help understand the impacts on other parts of your tax picture.

Third, state income taxes must always be considered when tax gain harvesting. There are some states that impose no income tax, and thus there’s no problem. But in most states there is an income tax, and there’s no preferential rate for capital gains. States generally tax capital gains like any other type of income. Thus, there can be a (usually small) state income tax on capital gains triggered through tax gain harvesting.

Depending on the state, the tax rate on the harvested gain might be small enough to make tax gain harvesting still well worth it. In any event, it is always advisable to consider what the state income tax effects of potential tax gain harvesting will be before pulling the trigger.

Offsetting Losses

Another time it may be worth it to tax gain harvest is when you already have incurred a significant taxable loss during the taxable year. Here is an illustrative example:

Example 2: In March 2019, Eileen sold shares of the XYZ Mutual Fund and realized a $13,000 capital loss. She has no other capital gains or losses in 2019. If she does nothing else, she will be able to deduct $3,000 of the loss against her ordinary income and carryforward $10,000 of the capital loss to 2019. If Eileen owns shares in the ABC Mutual Fund with a $10,000 built-in gain, she could sell those shares in December 2019, incur no marginal federal or state income tax, and still claim a $3,000 capital loss on her 2019 federal income tax return.

Eileen is now positioned to realize the benefits of tax gain harvesting. She can either restructure her portfolio in 2019 with no additional tax cost on the ABC Mutual Fund gain, or can repurchase ABC Mutual Fund shares shortly after the sale and increase her basis by $10,000.

It is worthwhile to note that by tax gain harvesting here, Eileen does cost herself in tax in the future, since she won’t have the $10,000 capital loss carryforward to use to offset future capital gains (and up to $3,000 in ordinary income) in 2020 and beyond. Thus, tax gain harvesting to offset current year capital losses involves tradeoffs, and taxpayers considering it are often well advised to run the numbers through a tax forecasting program and/or consult with a professional advisor before pulling the trigger.

Conclusion

Those with appreciated assets in taxable accounts should consider tax gain harvesting. One or both of the following need to be true: the taxpayer is in a relatively low tax bracket or has a capital loss in the current taxable year. If either or both are true, there may be an opportunity to save on future capital gains taxes and/or restructure a portfolio at no or low tax cost. As always, it is best to run the numbers and/or consult with a professional advisor before pulling the trigger.

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