topic Investment and Saving taxed higher than expected - Not as long term capital gains in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Investment and Saving taxed higher than expected - Not as long term capital gains

angrycustomer87 — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 08:43:27 GMT

When I finish the Investment and Saving tab of turbo tax it gives me a summary. $26k in capital gains and $4.8k in taxes due to these gains. I know that about $24k of these gains are long term capital gains, while the rest is short term/dividend income. Since my AGI is in the $40k - $445k range, this should be taxed at 15%. However it is taxed at 18%, which is the same as my total taxes/taxable income.

I feel like the correct amount should be $24k*15% +$2k*18% ~= $4k. If the $24k is taxed at 15% then the dividends are being taxed at 60%, which makes no sense.

Turbotax has explanation boxes that are very helpful in other sections of the application. It would be really nice to have a detailed breakdown here.

Re: Investment and Saving taxed higher than expected - Not as long term capital gains

Mike9241 — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 07:33:02 GMT

there is a capital gain and qualified gain worksheet that shows the calculation. you'll probably have to pay any fees first before you can see it

what about income other than capital gains and dividends. other ordinary income can push LTCG and Qual Div's into a higher tax bracket.

Re: Investment and Saving taxed higher than expected - Not as long term capital gains

angrycustomer87 — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 04:08:38 GMT

Nevermind!!! I misread Turbotax. It said the capital gains tax is included in the $4.8k that I currently owe, not what my capital gains tax is total.

Your comment makes a lot of sense, and helped me understand. Turbotax does not give you all the details of the calculus because it would allow some people to use their service without paying. I did the math on my own and got a number very similar to Turbotax, so it looks good.