Long-term capital gain

Long-term capital gain

A profit on the sale of a security or mutual fund share that has been held for more than one year.

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Long-term capital gain (or loss). When you sell a capital asset that you have owned for more than a year at a higher price than you paid to buy it, any profit on the sale is considered a long-term capital gain.

If you sell for less than you paid to purchase the asset, you have a long-term capital loss.

Unlike short-term gains, which are taxed at your income tax rate, most long-term gains on most investments, including real estate and securities, are taxed at rates lower than the rates on ordinary income. Currently, those rates are 15% if you're in the 25% tax bracket or higher, and 5% if you are in the 10% or 15% bracket.

You can deduct your long-term losses from your long-term gains, and your short-term losses from your short-term gains, to reduce the amount on which potential tax may be due. You may also be able to deduct up to $3,000 in accumulated long-term losses from your ordinary income and carry forward losses you can't use in one tax year to deduct in the next tax year.