In my last post , we talked about how long-term capital gains stack on top of ordinary income when calculating your federal taxes. We also looked at the magical unicorn of tax brackets: the 0% long-term capital gains bracket. This “stacking” concept doesn’t just help reduce your taxes today—it can also shrink your tax bill years from now by intentionally using the 0% tax bracket. And that’s where capital gains harvesting  comes in. Yes, “harvesting,” as if we’re out in a fiel

(and why getting bumped into a higher tax bracket isn’t the disaster people think it is) In my previous post , I mentioned that capital gains and dividends can fall within a zero percent tax bracket if you hold your investments long enough. Imagine: legally not having to pay taxes on thousands of dollars of income. Cha-ching! But before we get that fun part—we need to clear up one thing: how our progressive income tax system works. Many people misunderstand how ordinary incom

When I first started buying and selling stocks, I never held any shares for longer than a few months. Then tax season rolled around, and I found myself staring blankly at a Schedule D tax form, thinking, “What the heck are capital gains , and why did my tax liability jump?” If you’re new to investing, there are two ways to make money through stocks: capital gains and dividends. In this post, we’ll break down what capital gains are, how they’re taxed, and why your holding per