Congress did lower income Americans a favor over the last decade. They have progressively moved to make capital gains income completely tax free for the individuals making less than $36,250 and couples filing jointly making less than $72,500.
If you fall into that category, congratulations because you will owe no capital gains tax on your investments, assuming they are "long-term" capital gains. What is long-term? Hold a security (stock/bond) for more than 365 days constitutes it as being a long-term security.
Now if you follow my advice and put money away into a low fee ETF for decades, then you don't need to worry about this. But if you fall into the above category and you own some stock and need some money, you may need to talk to your tax pro to see if you can sell it without a penalty this year.
Taxes change every year, so who knows if this will still apply next year. Just something to think about as we approach the end of the year.
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