How do I avoid paying taxes on stock dividends?
Options include owning dividend-paying stocks in a tax-advantaged retirement account or 529 plan. You can also avoid paying capital gains tax altogether on certain dividend-paying stocks if your income is low enough. A financial advisor can help you employ dividend investing in your portfolio.
Your “qualified” dividends may be taxed at 0% if your taxable income falls below $44,625 (if single or Married Filing Separately), $59,750 (if Head of Household), or $89,250 (if (Married Filing Jointly or qualifying widow/widower) (tax year 2023). Above those thresholds, the qualified dividend tax rate is 15%.
- Step #1: Save money. ...
- Step #2: Open a brokerage account. ...
- Step #3: Invest in high-quality dividend stocks. ...
- Step #4: Repeat steps 1-3. ...
- Should You Invest $1,000 In TD Bank?
Reinvested dividends may be treated in different ways, however. Qualified dividends get taxed as capital gains, while non-qualified dividends get taxed as ordinary income. You can avoid paying taxes on reinvested dividends in the year you earn them by holding dividend stocks in a tax-deferred retirement plan.
Since the IRS considers dividends to be income, you usually need to pay taxes on them. Even if you reinvest all of your dividends directly back into the same company or fund that paid you the dividends, you will pay taxes as they technically still pass through your hands.
Without double taxation, many argue, that individuals could own large amounts of stock in corporations and live off of their dividends without ever paying taxes on what they are individually earning. Corporations can avoid double taxation by electing not to pay dividends.
All dividends paid to shareholders must be included on their gross income, but qualified dividends will get more favorable tax treatment. A qualified dividend is taxed at the capital gains tax rate, while ordinary dividends are taxed at standard federal income tax rates.
For example, if the average yield is 3%, that's what we'll use for our calculations. Keep in mind, yields vary based on the investment. Calculate the Investment Needed: To earn $1,000 per month, or $12,000 per year, at a 3% yield, you'd need to invest a total of about $400,000.
Historically, the stock market has an average annual rate of return between 10–12%. So if your $1 million is invested in good growth stock mutual funds, that means you could potentially live off of $100,000 to $120,000 each year without ever touching your one-million-dollar goose.
It is possible to achieve financial freedom by living off dividends forever. That isn't to say it's easy, but it's possible.
Why are dividends taxed twice?
The double taxation of dividends is a reference to how corporate earnings and dividends are taxed by the U.S. government. Corporations pay taxes on their earnings and then pay shareholders dividends out of the after-tax earnings.
You may have to pay capital gains tax on stocks sold for a profit. Any profit you make from selling a stock is taxable at either 0%, 15% or 20% if you held the shares for more than a year. If you held the shares for a year or less, you'll be taxed at your ordinary tax rate.
Dividends are taxable regardless of whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in the mutual fund that pays them out. You incur the tax liability in the year in which the dividends are reinvested.
How dividends are taxed depends on your income, filing status and whether the dividend is qualified or nonqualified. Qualified dividends are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% depending on taxable income and filing status. Nonqualified dividends are taxed as income at rates up to 37%.
When you receive a dividend, the total value (basis) of the stock doesn't change. Instead, the basis of each share changes. Stock dividends usually don't have tax implications until you sell the shares. So, the amount paid in cash for the fractional share is considered taxable income.
Dividends from stocks or funds are taxable income, whether you receive them or reinvest them. Qualified dividends are taxed at lower capital gains rates; unqualified dividends as ordinary income. Putting dividend-paying stocks in tax-advantaged accounts can help you avoid or delay the taxes due.
If your losses are greater than your gains
A year when your realized losses outweigh your gains is never fun, but you'll make up for a little of the pain at tax time. Up to $3,000 in net losses can be used to offset your ordinary income (including income from dividends or interest).
Double taxation refers to income tax being paid twice on the same source of income. This can occur when income is taxed at both the corporate level and the personal level, as in the case of stock dividends.
Stock shares that pay dividends must be held for at least 61 days within a 121-day period that begins 60 days before the ex-dividend date.
- BlackRock Municipal Intermediate Duration Fund (MUI) First on our list of tax-free dividend stocks is BlackRock Muni Intermediate Duration Fund (NYSE:MUI). ...
- Invesco Value Municipal Income Trust (IIM) ...
- Nuveen Municipal Credit Income (NZF) ...
- MFS High Income Municipal Trust (CXE)
Do dividends count against Social Security?
Pension payments, annuities, and the interest or dividends from your savings and investments are not earnings for Social Security purposes. You may need to pay income tax, but you do not pay Social Security taxes.
For tax purposes, when you sell an investment for more than you bought it, you realize a capital gain. This gain is taxable, and the tax rate depends on the length of time you hold the stock before selling it.
Berkshire currently owns 400 million shares of Coca-Cola. This means that on an annualized basis, Warren Buffett's company generates $736 million in dividend income from the beverage giant. That is a huge passive income stream that likely explains why Buffett isn't exiting the position.
Company | Dividend Yield |
---|---|
Alexander's Inc. (ALX) | 8.33% |
Sinclair Inc (SBGI) | 8.32% |
Eagle Bancorp Inc (MD) (EGBN) | 7.97% |
Evolution Petroleum Corporation (EPM) | 7.91% |
To generate $5,000 per month in dividends, you would need a portfolio value of approximately $1 million invested in stocks with an average dividend yield of 5%. For example, Johnson & Johnson stock currently yields 2.7% annually. $1 million invested would generate about $27,000 per year or $2,250 per month.