Here we are in July, and the year is half over. As
we start to enter the last half of 2018, it's never too early
to think about end-of-year tax planning. Rather than leaving it to
the 11th hour, consider how you might be able to lower your tax
bill for the current year.
One common tax tip is tax- loss selling, which refers to the
strategy of triggering losses before December 31 to offset capital
gains that you may be facing for 2018. So, the real
question is: How do you trigger a loss?" One easy way is to
look at the stocks or other investments in your portfolio to see
which are in a loss position (i.e. where the current market value
is less than the original cost). By selling such
investments in a loss position, you can trigger a loss. Yes, it
means that you aren't making any money off these sales, but it
also means that the loss that results can be used to offset the
gains, which at the end of the day translates into lowering your
tax bill.
