As December 31 approaches, I review my clients’ taxable investment accounts for “tax-loss harvesting” opportunities.

 

Tax-loss harvesting is an important year-end investment strategy. It refers to selling investments that declined in value, which generates capital losses. Those losses are then used to offset capital gains on client tax returns. That benefits them by reducing the capital gains taxes they pay.

 

The bad/good news is that there were few positions with losses this year. The losses that did exist were too small to make tax-loss harvesting worthwhile.

 

2017 has been a remarkable year. Partly because returns were good in most categories but also because stock market volatility was historically low.

 

That is good for investors but also results in no stock loss harvesting opportunities.

 

Wish it happened every year.

 

For more information on tax-loss harvesting, click here.

Notes:

This is for educational purposes only. To learn more about the topics mentioned and if they are suitable for you, consult an appropriate professional. Tax laws can change at any time.

Arthur Stein and Arthur Stein Financial, LLC are not authorized to give legal or tax advice.  For information on your specific situation, please consult your tax advisor regarding any tax implications and your attorney for legal implications. As required by the US Treasury Regulations, you should be aware that this presentation is not intended to be used and it cannot be used for the purposes of avoiding penalties under federal tax laws.

Any information provided in this presentation has been prepared from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed and is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision. Any information provided is for information purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation.

Keep in mind that:

Past performance is no guarantee of future performance;

Investments involve the risk of loss of principal and earnings;

ETFs, mutual funds, including money market funds, etc. are not guaranteed in any way by the US Government, the FDIC, a bank or anyone else.

“Average annual return” evens out variations in the actual year-to-year returns.

ETFs, mutual funds and individual stocks and bonds fluctuate in value and there will always be times when they lose value.

None of the information provided by Arthur Stein is necessarily relevant to anyone’s particular situation. Situations differ among individuals and you should not assume that these generalizations or information apply to you.

Investments mentioned may not be suitable for all investors.

Arthur Stein Financial, LLC is registered with the states of MD, DC and VA. It is not registered with, nor is it required to be registered with, the Securities and Exchange Commission.