Investing is a successful way to build wealth and security, although it also creates a hefty bill if you don't have a clear idea about how and when the IRS imposes taxes on investments. Generally, what and when you pay depends on the type of investment. Given below are a few common types of taxes on investments that we have listed so you can minimize what you owe.

1. Tax on Capital Gains
These are types of taxes that you gain from the sale of an asset which can be a piece of land, a business, or even shares of stock. Normally, capital gains are also known as taxable income.

Basically, on the sale of any of these above-mentioned assets or items, the money that you make is your capital gain. Can further explain it, for instance, if you sold a stock for $10,000 profit this year, you might have to pay capital gains tax on the gain. For most assets held for more than one year, the tax rate on capital gains is 0%, 15%, or 20%. And for most assets held for less than a year, the capital gain taxes correspond to ordinary income tax rates By using losses to offset gains, you can reduce capital gains taxes on investments. And this is called tax-loss harvesting.

2. Tax on Dividends
Dividends can be explained as taxable income in the year they're received. Nonqualified and qualified dividends are the two kinds of dividends. The tax rate on nonqualified dividends is similar to your regular income tax bracket, whereas the tax rate on qualified dividends is usually lower at around 0%, 15%, or 20%. All of this depends on your filing status and taxable income. You will receive a Form 1099-DIV or a Schedule K-1 from your broker or any establishment that sent you at least $10 in dividends and other deals after the end of the year. This form shows what you were paid and whether the dividends were qualified or nonqualified.

You can minimize it by holding investments for a certain period and qualify their dividends for a lower tax rate. To avoid a cash crunch when the tax bill arrives, you can remember to set cash aside for the taxes on dividend payments. To defer taxes on investments, holding dividend-paying investments inside a retirement account can be a good solution.

3. Taxes on Investments in a 401(k)
A traditional 401(k) is used to put the money you don't pay taxes, and you pay no taxes on interests, investment gains, or dividends while the money is in the account.

Only when you make withdrawal taxes are applied.

Like income from a job, for traditional 401(k)s, the money you withdraw is taxable as regular income. Before the age of 59 and a half years, if you withdraw money from a traditional 401(k), you may have to pay a 10% penalty on top of the taxes. And also, if you wait too long to make withdrawals, as in after age 72, you may have to pay the penalty.

Few ways to minimize taxes on investments would be tax-loss harvesting, borrowing from the account rather than withdrawing and rolling over the account.

4. Tax on Mutual Funds
These are taxes that include taxes on capital gains and dividends while you own the fund shares and capital gains taxes when you sell the fund shares. Your mutual fund may generate and distribute interests, dividends, or capital gains from the investments inside the fund. Even if you haven't sold any of the shares or accepted any cash from them, accordingly, you may owe taxes on these investments. Depending on the type of distribution you get from the mutual fund and other factors, the tax rate you pay is determined. You might incur capital gains tax if you sell your mutual fund shares for a profit. You can minimize or lower your capital gains tax rate by waiting at least a year to sell your shares. And you could defer the tax on the interest, dividends, or gains your mutual fund distributes by holding mutual fund shares inside a retirement account. Other options are choosing funds less likely to distribute taxable income and tax-loss harvesting.

5. Tax on the Sale of a House
This type of tax is added to the gain if you sell your home for a profit. How it works is that the IRS customarily enables you to exclude up to $250,000 of capital gains on your primary residence if you are single and $500,000 if you are married and filing jointly.

Can further explain this clearly with an example. For instance, if you and your partner bought a home 10 years ago for $200,000 and sold it today for $800,000. If you file your taxes jointly with your spouse $500,000 of that gain might not be subject to the capital gains tax, although $100,000 of the gain could be.

If you are looking to minimize the tax, then be sure to review them before you sell your house since you have to meet certain criteria to qualify for this exclusion. At UBOS, our experts are always available to guide you with anything related to tax planning, tax strategies, and more. Do contact us today to begin your consultation and learn more about how we can help you!