There is complexity to be found in essentially every section of the U.S. tax code, but few areas of the law generate so many questions (or so much controversy) as the tax treatment of capital gains.
Clients and advisors alike often find themselves asking exactly when capital gains taxes apply, how they are applied to which assets, whether or not they can be avoided, and many other such questions. This heightened focus makes sense, tax and investing experts agree, because the stakes are quite high.
Simply put, the sale of a large asset that has appreciated substantially can trigger enormous tax obligations for a client, while the smart management of capital losses over time can help to offset big future gains.
Advisors interested in testing their capital gains knowledge can take the following 10-question quiz, drawn from the ALM Tax Facts library. Only the tax-savviest advisors will be able to ace the test, but everyone can benefit from a capital gains rules refresher.
Slides: Credit: Chris Nicholls/ALM
Want more tax-focused insights? Find current and accurate answers to your tax questions with Tax Facts.
More quizzes on ThinkAdvisor: