About the Capital Gains Estimator
The Capital Gains Estimator in Quicken Classic for Mac helps users assess the tax implications of selling investments, including capital gains taxes. This tool allows you to review your portfolio, estimate taxes owed, and make informed decisions on which shares to sell for optimal financial outcomes. This is available for tiers of Quicken that allow investment tracking.
Setting Up the Capital Gains Estimator
The setup process helps you prepare for informed investment decisions before making sales. To begin using the Capital Gains Estimator, follow these steps:
Open your Brokerage Account to see your investment portfolio.
Select Investing Tools from the toolbar, then choose Capital Gains Estimator.
Select Get Started to initiate the estimator tool.
Select/enter your Federal and State tax rates. If needed, choose Custom to input specific tax rates for your situation. Adjust both Short-term and Long-term gains, as appropriate for your tax scenario.
Check the box for Apply Net Investment Income Tax if applicable. This tax applies to certain investment income for higher-income individuals, affecting gains from stocks, dividends, and other passive sources.
Select the securities you want to analyze. The tool will display key details such as Cost Basis, Sell Price, Holding Period, and potential Gains/Losses.
Review the results provided by the estimator, including Gross Proceeds, Taxes Owed, and Net Proceeds. You can adjust the number of shares to sell to evaluate different tax scenarios.
Accessing the Capital Gains Estimator
To view and modify your estimated capital gains:
Open your Brokerage Account to see your investment portfolio.
Select Investing Tools from the toolbar, then choose Capital Gains Estimator.
You can now view estimated capital gains based on your current portfolio.
To adjust your tax rates, select Edit Rates and update your federal, state, or custom rates.
Optionally, check the Include Retirement Accounts box to include tax-deferred retirement accounts in your analysis. Note that simple-tracking accounts are always excluded from this calculation.
Reviewing and Refining Results
Once you’ve selected your securities and adjusted your tax rates, the Capital Gains Estimator provides a detailed overview of the potential tax implications of selling your investments. You can fine-tune your results by making adjustments to the number of shares, tax rates, or security prices. Here’s how to review and refine your estimates for more accurate decision-making.
Review the Calculation Results
The estimator will calculate three key figures for each security:
Gross Proceeds: This represents the total amount you would receive from selling the selected number of shares.
Taxes Owed: The estimator calculates the taxes you would owe based on your selected tax rates (federal, state, and any applicable net investment income tax).
Net Proceeds: This is the final amount you will receive after taxes are deducted from your gross proceeds.
At the bottom of the screen, the estimator provides a Summary View, which shows the overall impact of your selected sales. This summary includes:
Total Short-term Gain/Loss: The combined gain or loss for any short-term sales (investments held for less than a year).
Total Long-term Gain/Loss: The combined gain or loss for long-term sales (investments held for more than a year).
Overall Gain/Loss: This figure combines both short-term and long-term gains or losses, providing an overall picture of how your sales will affect your portfolio.
These results allow you to quickly assess the tax impact of your sales and adjust your strategy as needed.
Search for specific securities
If you have a large portfolio, you can use the Search Bar to locate specific securities or lots. You can search by:
Name: Type in the name of the security you want to find.
Ticker Symbol: Enter the ticker symbol (e.g., AAPL for Apple).
Acquisition Date: You can also search by the date the security was purchased.
It’s important to note that the search function only applies to the Name/Lot column. You won’t be able to search based on numerical data such as gains, losses, or holding periods.
Modify tax rates
You can adjust your tax rates at any point during your analysis. To do this, select Edit Rates at the top of the screen. This feature allows you to see how changing your federal, state, or custom tax rates will affect your estimated taxes. Adjusting tax rates is particularly useful if you’re considering different tax brackets or planning for future income changes.
Refresh security prices
The estimator allows you to refresh prices without leaving the tool. By selecting 
, you can update the market prices of your securities to reflect the most current data. This ensures that your estimated proceeds and tax liabilities are based on the latest available prices. Using this feature can be especially helpful when market conditions are volatile, and you want to ensure accuracy in your estimates.
About the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT)
The Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) is a tax currently set at 3.8%, imposed on certain types of investment income for individuals, estates, and trusts that exceed specified thresholds; however, the rate is subject to change based on future legislation. Introduced as part of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 to help fund healthcare reform, the NIIT applies to the lesser of the taxpayer's net investment income or the excess of their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over thresholds of $200,000 for single filers, $250,000 for married couples filing jointly, and $125,000 for married couples filing separately. Investment income includes interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income, and certain passive business activities, excluding wages, Social Security benefits, and distributions from qualified retirement plans. The NIIT does not apply to non-resident aliens, and careful tax planning can help manage its impact.