Читать книгу Investing All-in-One For Dummies - Eric Tyson - Страница 35

Although you may be happy that your stock has given you an 11 percent return on your invested dollars, note that unless you held your investment in a tax-sheltered retirement account, you owe income taxes on your return. Specifically, the dividends and investment appreciation that you realize upon selling are taxed, although often at relatively low rates. The tax rates on so-called long-term capital gains (for investments held more than one year) and stock dividends are lower than the tax rates on other income.

If you’ve invested in savings accounts, money market accounts, or bonds, you owe federal income taxes on the interest plus whatever state income taxes your state levies.

Often, people make investing decisions without considering the tax consequences of their moves. This is a big mistake. What good is making money if the federal and state governments take away a substantial portion of it?

If you’re in a moderate tax bracket, taxes on your investment probably run in the neighborhood of 30 percent (federal and state). So if your investment returned 6 percent before taxes, you’re left with a return of about 4.2 percent after taxes.