{
  "id": "96-769",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "96-769",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 585139,
      "date": "2018-03-16",
      "retrieved": "2018-09-13T22:27:17.863265",
      "title": "Capital Gains Taxes: An Overview",
      "summary": "Taxes on long-term capital gains (on assets held for at least a year) are imposed at rates that correspond to pre-2018 brackets: a 0% rate for those whose income placed them in the regular 15% bracket or less (now in regular bracket of 12%), and 15% for taxpayers in higher brackets, except for those in the 39.6% bracket. The tax revision adopted in December 2018 (P.L. 115-97) maintained the links to the income level corresponding to the rate brackets in prior law. Therefore, the tax rates on capital gains are affected only by changes in the deductions to arrive at taxable income and the use of a different method of indexing for inflation. Under the new law, the original 10% and 15% brackets are replaced by a single 12% rate bracket that ends at the same point as the end of the 15% bracket. There is no 39.6% bracket (the top rate is 37% and begins at a higher level than the top bracket under previous law). In 2017, the 39.6% bracket began with taxable income of $470,700 for joint returns and $418,400 for single returns. There is also an exclusion of $500,000 ($250,000 for single returns) for gains on home sales.\nTax legislation in 1997 reduced capital gains taxes on several types of assets, imposing a 20% maximum tax rate on long-term gains, a rate temporarily reduced to 15% for 2003-2008, which was extended for two additional years in 2006. Legislation enacted in December 2010 extended the lower rates for an additional two years, thorough 2010. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240) made the lower rates permanent except for very high-income taxpayers.\nHealth reform legislation in 2010 provided for a tax at Medicare rates of 3.8% on high-income taxpayers on various forms of passive income, including capital gains. The tax applies to passive income in excess of $250,000 for joint returns and $200,000 for single returns.\nThe capital gains tax had been a tax cut target since the 1986 Tax Reform Act treated capital gains as ordinary income. An argument for lower capital gains taxes is reduction of the lock-in effect. Some also believe that lower capital gains taxes will cost little compared to the benefits they bring and that lower taxes induce additional economic growth, although the magnitude of these potential effects is in some dispute. Others criticize lower capital gains taxes as benefitting higher-income individuals and express concerns about the budget effects, particularly in future years. Another criticism of lower rates is the possible role of a larger capital gains tax differential in encouraging tax sheltering activities and adding complexity to the tax law.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/96-769",
          "sha1": "1773d3333d0406bb961746019e7a7e1dad13f6dc",
          "filename": "files/20180316_96-769_1773d3333d0406bb961746019e7a7e1dad13f6dc.html",
          "images": {}
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/96-769",
          "sha1": "d6655212a5e38636678616048bf57a40394adee5",
          "filename": "files/20180316_96-769_d6655212a5e38636678616048bf57a40394adee5.pdf",
          "images": {}
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4762,
          "name": "Savings & Investment Tax Policy"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 458743,
      "date": "2017-02-06",
      "retrieved": "2017-02-10T18:22:49.718507",
      "title": "Capital Gains Taxes: An Overview",
      "summary": "Current tax rates on capital gains are imposed at a 0% rate for those whose income places them in the regular 15% bracket, and 15% for taxpayers in higher brackets, except for those in the 39.6% bracket. In 2017, the 39.6% bracket begins with taxable income of $470,700 for joint returns and $418,400 for single returns. There is also an exclusion of $500,000 ($250,000 for single returns) for gains on home sales.\nTax legislation in 1997 reduced capital gains taxes on several types of assets, imposing a 20% maximum tax rate on long-term gains, a rate temporarily reduced to 15% for 2003-2008, which was extended for two additional years in 2006. Legislation enacted in December 2010 extended the lower rates for an additional two years, thorough 2010. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240) made the lower rates permanent except for very high income taxpayers.\nHealth reform legislation in 2010 provided for a tax at Medicare rates of 3.8% on high-income taxpayers on various forms of passive income, including capital gains. The tax applies to passive income in excess of $250,000 for joint returns and $200,000 for single returns.\nThe capital gains tax had been a tax cut target since the 1986 Tax Reform Act treated capital gains as ordinary income. An argument for lower capital gains taxes is reduction of the lock-in effect. Some also believe that lower capital gains taxes will cost little compared to the benefits they bring and that lower taxes induce additional economic growth, although the magnitude of these potential effects is in some dispute. Others criticize lower capital gains taxes as benefitting higher income individuals and express concerns about the budget effects, particularly in future years. Another criticism of lower rates is the possible role of a larger capital gains tax differential in encouraging tax sheltering activities and adding complexity to the tax law.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/96-769",
          "sha1": "1745ea4eb5515b2fbb61e7de8d7b2abceaad1b6b",
          "filename": "files/20170206_96-769_1745ea4eb5515b2fbb61e7de8d7b2abceaad1b6b.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/96-769",
          "sha1": "c37ffc9847741fb3ec891e4e8e4de45b5a188e9e",
          "filename": "files/20170206_96-769_c37ffc9847741fb3ec891e4e8e4de45b5a188e9e.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4762,
          "name": "Savings & Investment Tax Policy"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 416685,
      "date": "2013-01-17",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T21:26:51.828884",
      "title": "Capital Gains Taxes: An Overview",
      "summary": "Current tax rates on capital gains are imposed at a 0% rate for those whose income places them in the regular 15% bracket, 15% for taxpayers in higher brackets with taxable income below $450,000 for joint returns and $400,000 for single returns, and 20% for those with taxable income above those amounts. There is also an exclusion of $500,000 ($250,000 for single returns) for gains on home sales.\nTax legislation in 1997 reduced capital gains taxes on several types of assets, imposing a 20% maximum tax rate on long-term gains, a rate temporarily reduced to 15% for 2003-2008, which was extended for two additional years in 2006. Legislation enacted in December 2010 extended the lower rates for an additional two years, thorough 2010. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240) made the lower rates permanent except for very high income taxpayers.\nThe capital gains tax had been a tax cut target since the 1986 Tax Reform Act treated capital gains as ordinary income. An argument for lower capital gains taxes is reduction of the lock-in effect. Some also believe that lower capital gains taxes will cost little compared to the benefits they bring and that lower taxes induce additional economic growth, although the magnitude of these potential effects is in some dispute. Others criticize lower capital gains taxes as benefitting higher income individuals and express concerns about the budget effects, particularly in future years. Another criticism of lower rates is the possible role of a larger capital gains tax differential in encouraging tax sheltering activities and adding complexity to the tax law.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/96-769",
          "sha1": "6c193474516a9e4f0b5d88d728b4078e73289d84",
          "filename": "files/20130117_96-769_6c193474516a9e4f0b5d88d728b4078e73289d84.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/96-769",
          "sha1": "7a6e8042b2cca0513e7aa1517653b765aca67371",
          "filename": "files/20130117_96-769_7a6e8042b2cca0513e7aa1517653b765aca67371.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc806241/",
      "id": "96-769_2007Jan24",
      "date": "2007-01-24",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Capital Gains Taxes: An Overview",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20070124_96-769_fdee035ac8d87ec24ac97875183572c02c85baed.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20070124_96-769_fdee035ac8d87ec24ac97875183572c02c85baed.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc817862/",
      "id": "96-769_2003Jul15",
      "date": "2003-07-15",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Capital Gains Taxes: An Overview",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20030715_96-769_6a92b9577df70a1162374e57df943705dfed3799.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20030715_96-769_6a92b9577df70a1162374e57df943705dfed3799.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Economic Policy"
  ]
}