How do I choose tax rates in the Capital Gains Estimator?

1. Select Tax Rates from the navigation bar on the left side of the window.

2. In the top of the Tax Rates window, choose the applicable federal tax rates for the Capital Gains Estimator to use for calculations.If you've set up your Tax Planner dataIf you've set up your Tax Planner data, the Capital Gains Estimator will use Tax Planner rates by default. This set of rates will most closely reflect your true tax situation, including changes that may occur over the course of the tax year. When you use tax rates and data from the Tax Planner, the Capital Gains Estimator can calculate the impact your proposed sales will have on your overall tax due for the year. Also, Quicken can offset gains with previous losses (or losses against earlier gains), as well as determine whether the proposed sales will move you into a higher tax bracket.The What Should I Sell component of the Capital Gains Estimator can't give accurate results unless your Tax Plan data is complete. If you receive a message that Your current Tax Plan appears to be incomplete after clicking Search in What Should I Sell, do the following:Click No or Cancel to dismiss all dialogs until you're back at the main Capital Gains Estimator windowChoose Tax Planner at the top of the Capital Gains Estimator windowReview your Tax Plan data. The Tax Planner flags any items it considers incomplete with a magnifying glass icon. It is not sufficient just to enter numbers in the field beside the icon; you must show the details for the relevant item.When you've finished resolving all incomplete Tax Planner items, return to What Should I Sell and continue your search.If you haven't set up your Tax Planner dataIf your Tax Planner data isn't set up, your tax rates may default to the lowest marginal tax rate, 15 percent/10 percent/8 percent. If that is the case, you can go either to the Tax Planner and set up your tax data before using the Capital Gains Estimator, or you can manually choose federal tax rates that you think should be used here.

3. At the bottom of the window, choose short-term and long-term state tax rates.

Notes

• What is my short term tax rate?

  Your short-term tax rate is the same as your personal (also known as marginal) tax rate. It is the rate that would be applied to your next dollar of income. If you use the Tax Planner, you can find your personal tax rate in the Marginal Rate field. If not, check with your tax advisor to determine your personal tax rate.

• When should I use custom tax rates?

  Here's an example: A security you're thinking of selling is currently a short-term holding, but will roll over to long term within a month or two. Is it worth the wait? To help with your decision, you could set up a scenario modelling the sale of that security and using your normal tax rates. Then set up another scenario modelling the same sale, but choose Custom in the Select Tax Rates window and specify your long-term tax rate in the short-term field. Then compare the two scenarios. Consult with your tax advisor for more information.

• How do I make sure the Tax Planner is using my correct tax filing status?

  Whether or not you've recently changed your filing status (for example, single or married), it's a good idea to make sure that the Tax Planner knows your correct filing status:

  • Open the Tax Planner by clicking Tax Planner on the Capital Gains Estimator toolbar.

  • Check the Status on the upper-left side of the Tax Planner window. If it's wrong, click Status and then select the correct one from the Filing Status drop-down menu.

  • Return to the Capital Gains Estimator.

• Which tax year does the Capital Gains Estimator use?

  When you use data from the Tax Planner, the Capital Gains Estimator bases its calculations on your tax data from the current year.

  Keep in mind that software such as the Quicken Tax Planner can contain tax information only as up to date as the year in which it was manufactured (for example, The new Quicken supports the tax years 2017 and 2018). Check your Quicken version. If you use the Quicken tax features, it is a good idea to upgrade yearly. If you don't upgrade, the Tax Planner will use your most recent Quicken capital gains and losses data, but it won't be able to use the most recent tax rates in its calculations.

• How does the Capital Gains Estimator calculate the impact on your overall tax situation?

  Here's an example: In the Capital Gains Estimator, you propose a sale that yields a short-term capital gain of $5,000. If you use your Tax Planner rates and data, the Estimator not only calculates the tax for this particular sale (for example, $1,400), but it also informs you that this sale might increase the tax due at the end of the year from $1,000 to $2,400 and might place you in a higher tax bracket (moving you from the 28th to the 33rd percent bracket).

  If you don't use the Tax Planner rates and data, but instead select the standard rates of 28 percent for short-term and 15 percent for long-term gains, the Capital Gains Estimator calculates your federal tax on the same short-term capital gain of $5,000 to be $1,400, but has no knowledge of any tax liability currently tracked by the Tax Planner. It can't inform you of an increase in total tax due, or that the proposed sale could place you in a higher tax bracket.