It is very possible that you were not taxed at all on your gains or were taxed a
small amount and your federal withholding covered it anyway. The reason is: not
all capital gains are treated equally and the tax rate varies between
short-term and long-term gains.
If your gains are long term (your stock was held longer than a
year), you really benefit from a reduced tax rate on your profits. For 2016,
the long-term capital gains tax rates are 0, 15, and 20 percent . If your
ordinary tax rate is already less than 15 percent, you may pay zero percent long-term
capital gains rate- which means you will not see a difference on your refund/
tax bill.
When
you are done with your tax preparation, you may want to look at your form 1040
(and you can do so before you pay for the program) - page 2 of the form
displays Tax Smart Worksheet (right under line 43). You will see the
amount of tax and where tax is from. If item 4, Qualified Dividends and Capital
Gain Tax worksheet is checked, you are paying "favorable" tax and,
based on your tax bracket, you may not see increase in your tax bill or
decrease in your refund.
To preview Form 1040:
- From My account drop down, select Tools (you must be logged
into your tax return and IN your tax return - you may have to select Take
to my return or Pick up when
I left off orange
button)
- Select View Tax
Summary
- Select Preview my
1040
