An Introduction

Hi. Welcome to BourGroup and my blog. Phil

Phil Bour is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(tm) professional since 2004, a Magna Cum Laude college graduate and an accounting professional for over 35+ years. I love numbers, statistics and economic history.

I am also an Enrolled Agent (EA) to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service and to prepare tax returns.

"Phil"osophy: I believe that you can manage your money on your own (not necessarily through individual stock selection but through mutual funds, ETF's and other solutions) once you receive some one-time, professional guidance. Why pay annual fees when there may be little added value? For additional information, first read the "An Introduction" label at the left. Then move on to others.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Tax-Loss Harvesting

Taking losses and offsetting them against gains is a typical tax-loss harvesting strategy. The savings potential is usually tax deferral. You have to remember that when you sell something at a loss, your next purchase has, in effect, reset the cost-basis. This sets you up for future taxable gains - sometimes.

If you are in the 15% Federal tax bracket, today's tax code provides up to a $3,000 loss annually against your income (15%). The resulting reset in your cost-basis may mean that the potential future capital gains will be taxed at 0%.

There is the potential for tax planning strategies if the right situation applies to you.