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Capital gains tax |
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Capital gains taxThe tax levied on profits from the sale of capital assets. A long-term capital gain, which is achieved once an asset is held for at least 12 months, is taxed at a maximum rate of 20% (taxpayers in 28% tax bracket) and 10% (taxpayers in 15% tax bracket). Assets held for less than 12 months are taxed at regular income tax levels, and, since January 1, 2000, assets held for at least five years are taxed at 18% and 8%.Capital gains taxA tax placed on the profits from the sale of real estate or investments.Capital gains taxCapital gains tax arises as a result of a 'chargeable event' - in the case of stock market investment, the disposal of shares at a profit.Just because you make a capital gain does not mean you necessarily have to pay tax on the gain. It all depends on your personal tax position, and on whether your total gains for the year are within the annual exemptions. The annual exemption per spouse in the tax year 2002-2003 is £7,700, rising to £7,900 for the 2003-2004 tax year.The gain you make beyond your annual exemption is added to any other income you may have and taxed as additional income at your marginal rate, be it 20% or 40%.Whatever the eventual tax position, it is important to keep records that enable you to calculate the gain on the sale of an asset, and ideally your record-keeping should be in a form that lends itself to completing your Tax Return.The essential information you need for each asset is:Base or original costDate of acquisitionDate of disposalDisposal proceedsWhen you have this information you are in a position to take advantage of indexation, taper relief, losses and your annual exemption.Similar MatchesCapital sharesCapital sharesShares which entitle the holder to receive the capital appreciation from a split capital investment trust. The other type of shares in such a fund are income shares which receive the fund's income. Authorised share capitalAuthorised share capitalThe total number of shares a company is authorised to issue by reference to its memorandum and articles of association.The amount of issued share capital must be lower or equal to the authorised share capital. i.e. a company cannot issue more shares than it is authorised to issue in its Articles. Investment Company with Variable CapitalInvestment Company with Variable CapitalAn open-ended collective investment vehicle, similar to a unit trust. As with unit trusts, the money invested by savers is pooled, and then invested in the markets by professional fund managers appointed by the ICVC. The advantage to savers is that by putting their savings together with savings of other individuals, they get the benefits of diversification, and also of professional fund management. The difference between an ICVC and a unit trust is that an ICVC is a company rather than a trust. If you put savings into it, you have shares, not units. Also, an ICVC has just one price, whether you are buying or selling shares in it, with charges shown separately. Return to capitalReturn to capitalSame as the rental price of capital. Since capital can only be measured in monetary units, the rental price is, say, dollars per dollar's worth of capital per unit time, and it therefore has the form of a rate of return like an interest rate. CapitalCapitalThe overall assets of an individual less liabilities.Money injected into a company by way of share capital and loan capital plus retained earnings. Further SuggestionsWorking capitalCapital gains Capital lease Cost of limited partner capital Capital expenditures Capital market line (CML) Capital account balance Capital gain Capital flow Other capital Leveraged recapitalization Capital expenditure Capital intensive Capital good Capital International Indexes Efficient capital market Capital gain venture capital trust Pecking order view (of capital structure) Capital appreciation or depreciation Capital flight Capital account Capital-saving Capital loss Venture Capital |
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