Taxes and Cap Gains

[mikeyzito22]

Hi everyone,

If I claim a loss or a gain in 2022 on a 1099, this gain or loss is based on what my taxable income was in 2022. However, I'm not quite sure how to know know what my taxable income would be for the year until I do my taxes and file. So, am I guesstimating at this point as to what cap gains bracket I'm in? My W-2 doesn't have a "taxable income" section and neither does my wife's. I just filed, and I was close on my estimate. However, in the future..how does one dial this in, or does a Boglehead have a better idea?

[jebmke]

Box 1 is the taxable income on a W2. The totals from W2s go on line 1a of the 1040.

[delamer]

Assuming you are trying to figure out the tax rate on any capital gain/loss? The actual amount of the gain/loss isn’t dependent on your taxable income.

You can use an ap like TaxCaster to estimate your taxable income. Enter everything except your gains/losses, record your taxable income and tax owed. Then add in the gains/losses, and compute the differences to determine your tax rate.

More simply, if your other (non-capital gains/loss) income is consistent from year-to-year, then using your prior year’s taxable income as a proxy should do the trick.

[Hyperchicken]

https://engaging-data.com/tax-brackets/

Put box 1 from your W-2 + box 1 from your wife's W-2 into "regular wage income" and your capital gains into "capital gain income" boxes.

It's mostly accurate for a typical tax situation - standard deduction, no other income, no NIIT, etc.

[FiveK]

You might find Tax estimation tools - Bogleheads useful.

[mikeyzito22]

Assuming you are trying to figure out the tax rate on any capital gain/loss? The actual amount of the gain/loss isn’t dependent on your taxable income.

You can use an ap like TaxCaster to estimate your taxable income. Enter everything except your gains/losses, record your taxable income and tax owed. Then add in the gains/losses, and compute the differences to determine your tax rate.

More simply, if your other (non-capital gains/loss) income is consistent from year-to-year, then using your prior year’s taxable income as a proxy should do the trick.

Thank you, I have been using last years data as a proxy, however we have been getting raises. Looks like I will estimate from Taxcaster. It is interesting that the cap gains rate tables keep going up as well. For example, the 15% rate (on the bottom end) keeps getting higher.

[mikeyzito22]

https://engaging-data.com/tax-brackets/

Put box 1 from your W-2 + box 1 from your wife's W-2 into "regular wage income" and your capital gains into "capital gain income" boxes.

It's mostly accurate for a typical tax situation - standard deduction, no other income, no NIIT, etc.

Thank you! That tool is neato.