Capital Gains and Qualified Dividends
Many taxpayers own stocks, bond, mutual funds, exchange traded funds and other investments. If you receive a qualified dividend or buy and sell an investment for a gain outside of a tax sheltered account, you may be subject to a qualified dividend tax or capital gains tax. Short term capital gains (365 days or less) are taxed at ordinary income tax rates. Long term capital gains (366 days or more) are taxed at the rates in the table above. For example, single filer earning $37,950 would have a 0% qualified dividend rate and a 0% long term care gains rate.
Investment Surtax
Single filers with taxable income of $200,000 or higher and those married filing jointly with taxable income of $250,000 or higher are further penalized with an investment surtax (net investment income tax). The investment surtax rate is 3.8% on income from investments, including, but not limited to: interest, dividends, short and long-term capital gains, rental income, royalty income and passive business income.