Capital gains taxes

The recent change in presidency is set to bring about substantial changes in the way high-net worth individuals are taxed in relation to capital gains.

The near doubling of the capital gains tax rate would have a large impact on the net profit from any sale of any capital asset.

(Bloomberg) — An unpleasant surprise for wealthy Americans lurks halfway through a 114-page document released by the U.S. Treasury late last month.

It’s counterintuitive, but the cash benefit of delaying payouts can outweigh rate increases, thanks to compounding over time.

The proposed changes are worrying investors and their tax advisors, especially the possibility of making them retroactive.

Even with a 15-year window to pay taxes, a near-doubling of the capital gains rate and the elimination of the step-up in basis loophole will make a sale expensive.

Individuals have already started receiving requests for information, according to tax attorneys.

"Inheritors are going to get killed" under the White House’s proposal to put the brakes on tax-free intergenerational transfers of wealth.

Biden’s approach might be politically astute, but from a fiscal-design point of view, it’s partially self-defeating, Bloomberg’s Clive Crook writes.

Instead of hitting heirs with a hefty tax payment at the time of a benefactor’s death, one proposal would allow the beneficiaries to defer the bill.

President Biden releases his annual budget on May 27, a move likely to detail his plans to increase the capital gains tax rate and eliminate a lucrative benefit for inherited estates.

Affluent clients can use wealth and retirement strategies to blunt the impact of the administration’s proposals, which include a higher capital gains rate.

Having had higher income in previous years may prevent a taxpayer from receiving a stimulus payment now, writes Jeffrey Levine.

The administration's proposal for the capital-gains tax rate is in part a throwback to the Reagan years, an expert says.

A version of the administration's plan to close the step-up in basis loophole was floated by President Obama in 2015, but it died in a Republican-controlled Congress.

The new rate, up from the current 37%, would encompass less than 1% of taxpayers, a White House official said.

The administration's plan would eliminate a break that allows heirs to use the market value of assets at the time of a transfer, rather than the actual purchase price.

Residential property owners are the most likely to be impacted by proposed changes in the administration’s American Families Plan.

If passed, the package would end the step-up in basis provision, which will mean significantly larger tax bills for wealthy estates.

If Biden’s proposal is enacted, Nir Kaissar writes many investors will dump their funds to avoid paying a higher tax down the road.