Did you know you might be overpaying capital gains tax on investments because of tax rules that went into effect in 2011? Those new rules changed the way we report capital gains and losses on investments. Under the old rules, it was your job to report cost basis, that’s what you paid for the investment, to the IRS. With the new rules, it’s your broker’s or fund company’s responsibility.

Before the rules change, lets just say not everyone was truthful about their gains. The honor system doesn’t work well with taxes. Putting the onus into the brokers and fund companies’ hands add a layer of protection for the IRS.

Instead of number crunching your way to lower taxes at year’s end, you now need to calculate cost basis at the time of sale. That involves tracking your profits/losses, so you can pick the cost basis method that gives you the best tax savings for the year, without hurting you later on. Continue Reading…