New Corrected Version: I have something to add
Post# of 85484
I have something to add to the excellent advice about selling UNVC shares by LV and others:
As you’re selling your UNVC shares for megabucks soon, you may want to keep in mind the Federal Income Tax Rates that you’ll be paying on those stock sales when you file your taxes.
There are two types of stock shares for income tax purposes: short-term shares (held for less than one year) which (taxed at ordinary income tax rates up to a maximum of 37% tax for 2022) and long-term shares you have held for over a year (taxed at a maximum capital gains tax rate of 23.8%).
If you have all long-term UNVC shares, then what I say next doesn’t matter. But if you have both short-term and long-term UNVC shares, then it does matter.
When choosing stock shares to sell, brokerages give you three different choices. 1) FIFO or First In First Out 2) LIFO or Last In First Out and 3) Choose Lot. The default choice at most brokerages is FIFO, which means that if you hold long-term UNVC shares and go with the FIFO default you will be selling those long-term shares first for a lower tax rate (of up to 23.8%). LIFO is generally the worst choice because it usually means that you will be selling your short-term shares (if you have them) first (for a maximum of 37% in taxes). FIFO and LIFO are automatic selling choices. I like Choose Lot the best because it gives you more choice flexibility (to sell long-term or short-term shares or a combination of both) each time you sell.
So where can you find these obscure settings? In my Etrade account they are hidden away under Account Preferences > Tax Preferences > Lot Selection, where you can choose FIFO, LIFO or Choose Lot.
While you are in there looking at your brokerage account you may want to choose a beneficiary (the person who will inherit your account) if you haven’t done so already. It’s always a good idea -in case you have a heart attack when you look at your brokerage account and you can’t believe how much money you have made, -LOL!
Now is definitely the time (before the insanity hits) to carefully review your selling strategy and to decide what you want to do.