Stock market investors: Year-end tax strategies to consider - Crawford Ellenbogen

Year-end is a good time to plan to save taxes by structuring your capital gains and losses. Consider some possibilities. For example, suppose you lost money this year on some stock and have other stock that has appreciated. Consider selling appreciated assets before Dec. 31 (if you think the value has peaked) and offset gains with losses. Long-term capital losses offset long-term capital gains before they offset short-term gains. Similarly, short-term capital losses offset short-term capital gains before they offset long-term gains. You may generally use up to $3,000 of capital losses in excess of total capital gains as a deduction against ordinary income in computing adjusted gross income.