8 Ways To Reduce Tax on Mutual Funds Investment
Most income you earn from investments is subject to taxes. Tax on Mutual funds like any other assets only occurs when you sell that investment. However, there are strategies you can apply to reduce tax on your investment.
Also, having a good tax strategy is an important part of investing your money. And the less tax you pay, the more money you will save. But you can reduce taxes on mutual funds which is a taxable accounts efficiently. Besides, this will lower investment tax liabilities for returns earned outside traditional retirement accounts. Here are eight ways to reduce tax on mutual funds.
8 Ways To Reduce Tax On Mutual Funds Investment
1. Minimize Turnover And Avoid Incurring Short-term Capital Gains
You should know the difference between short term tax rates and long term tax rates. For long term capital gains, you will not be taxed for one year and the tax rates are from zero to 20 percent. Also, this depends on your filing status and taxable income.
But if you sell in the first year you invested it will lead to a tax equal to your income tax rate. And this is higher than the long term capital gains tax rate. Note that until you sell your investment, you will not be taxed. And the highest Federal tax is 37 percent. Therefore, before you sell an investment think of the tax you will pay.
2. Consider Municipal Bonds And Funds For Taxable Accounts
To cut tax on mutual funds, you can consider buying municipal bonds. When you earn income on municipal bonds, you will not be taxed by the federal government. Also, if you buy it in the state you live in, you will not pay state taxes. But you should check the tax-equivalent yield before you buy a municipal bond. Use a tax-equivalent yield online Calculator to calculate the potential returns.
Also, if a municipal bond yields 2 percent, it is equivalent to 3.08 percent on bonds that are taxable at the 35 percent range. You may consider these municipal bonds like fidelity Massachusetts municipal fund and vanguard CA intermediate –Term Tax-Exempt Fund.
3. Reduce Taxes With Charitable Planning
A wealth Advisor suggests that if you donate securities like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds that have risen in value, you will not pay capital gains tax. For example, if you buy a stock with $25,000 and it rises to $$100,000 the government will tax the gains of $75,000. But if you give the whole $100,000 to charity to sell, they will not tax you. Also, depending on the type of fund, you will receive income from that trust and a tax deduction for 5 years after making the donation to a charity.
4. Use Tax-loss Harvesting To Cut Income Taxes
To lower tax on mutual funds, try tax-loss harvesting. Also, as an investor, you can take the losses on securities that are reduced in price and get a tax credit from the government for the loss of value. And then instantly add it to the gains you will get when you sell other securities that rose in price in that same year.
Experts say that losses must make up for gains of the same type. Also, if you have any remaining losses, you can only take the benefit of $3,000 in a year. And if you are unable to make up for it with gains you have to carry any losses remaining to the next year.
5. Optimize Asset Allocations
Put the assets you have that are tax-efficient in a taxable account and assets with the highest tax bills in a retirement account. For example, You should put volatile investments in a taxable account because if you incur a loss you can get a tax benefit.
In addition, you should put individual stocks and stock funds into a tax account of your choice. Why? You won’t be taxed any capital gains tax until you sell your stock investment. And even the dividends you earn are taxed at little interest rates.
6. Be Passive With Efficient Index Funds
You can evade tax on mutual funds by investing in efficient index funds. Also, you can invest in passively managed stock index funds because they are preferred for taxable accounts. The idea is that if you buy a fund that tracks a big stock index like the S&P 500 that is not traded, it will diversify your investment.
Besides, you should stay away from costly niche funds. Furthermore, here are some tax-efficient index funds. They are the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF, and Vanguard Large-Cap ETF.
7. Choose ETFs Over Mutual Funds
Due to the structure of ETFs, if you have more of them, it will help to lower capital gains that erode mutual funds. For instance, you must sell the underlying security in a mutual fund to get cash for redemption and this will create capital gains.
But if you have ETFs, you trade them on the market between buyers and sellers. Also, note that if you have mutual funds or ETFs that have dividend-paying underlying assets, you will be taxed dividend income.
Moreover, before you buy any Fund, check the potential tax you may have to pay. Also, you should avoid mutual funds that they trade actively because they will accumulate high transaction costs, fees, and higher capital gains and so you will pay more taxes.
8. Stay Simple Avoid Exotic Investments
If an investment looks complex, stay away from it. This is the last strategy to get away from tax on mutual funds. Pay more attention to the consequences of tax to let you keep more of your profits gained from investments.
Don’t go looking for tax efficiency in taxable accounts and jump into the wrong investment. Also, don’t fall for any advisors offering you taxable accounts. Run when you hear words from them like depreciation, shelter, annuity, insurance wrapper or tax deferral. If you buy them you will pay high fees.
Conclusion
A mutual fund like any other taxable account will get its share of taxes. Whether you invest in a 401k retirement fund and the government deffer taxation, eventually, they will tax you. So follow the above strategies to manage your investments better by investing for the long term and reducing the number of times you sell in a year.