Long-term capital gain

Long-term capital gain

A profit on the sale of a security or mutual fund share that has been held for more than one year.

Long-Term Capital Gain

The profit one realizes by selling a position one has held for longer than one year. For example, if one buys a stock or bond and sells it five years later for more than what one paid, this is considered a long-term capital gain. The government wishes to encourage long-term investment, and as such, long-term capital gains are usually entitled to preferential treatment for tax purposes; that is, they are taxed at a lower rate than most other income. See also: Long-term capital loss.

Long-term capital gain (or loss).

When you sell a capital asset that you have owned for more than a year at a higher price than you paid to buy it, any profit on the sale is considered a long-term capital gain.

If you sell for less than you paid to purchase the asset, you have a long-term capital loss.

Unlike short-term gains, which are taxed at your income tax rate, most long-term gains on most investments, including real estate and securities, are taxed at rates lower than the rates on ordinary income. Currently, those rates are 15% if you're in the 25% tax bracket or higher, and 5% if you are in the 10% or 15% bracket.

You can deduct your long-term losses from your long-term gains, and your short-term losses from your short-term gains, to reduce the amount on which potential tax may be due. You may also be able to deduct up to $3,000 in accumulated long-term losses from your ordinary income and carry forward losses you can't use in one tax year to deduct in the next tax year.

long-term capital gain

A gain on the sale of an asset held for more than one year.Currently longterm capital gains enjoy reduced tax rates over those imposed on short-term capital gains.