How mutual funds & ETFs are taxed | Vanguard (2024)

FAQs

How mutual funds & ETFs are taxed | Vanguard? ›

Just as with individual securities, when you sell shares of a mutual fund or ETF (exchange-traded fund) for a profit, you'll owe taxes on that "realized gain." But you may also owe taxes if the fund realizes a gain by selling a security for more than the original purchase price—even if you haven't sold any shares.

ETFs are generally considered more tax-efficient than mutual funds, owing to the fact that they typically have fewer capital gains distributions. However, they still have tax implications you must consider, both when creating your portfolio as well as when timing the sale of an ETF you hold.

Like income from the sale of any other investment, if you have owned the mutual fund shares for a year or more, any profit or loss generated by the sale of those shares is taxed as long-term capital gains. Otherwise, it is considered ordinary income.

ETF dividends are taxed according to how long the investor has owned the ETF fund. If the investor has held the fund for more than 60 days before the dividend was issued, the dividend is considered a “qualified dividend” and is taxed anywhere from 0% to 20% depending on the investor's income tax rate.

In these cases, investors don't have to pay extra taxes when a mutual fund they own converts to an ETF. Brokerage account holders simply get the value of their mutual fund investment transferred tax-free into the ETF version. The new ETF has the same managers and portfolio that the mutual fund had.

At least once a year, funds must pass on any net gains they've realized. As a fund shareholder, you could be on the hook for taxes on gains even if you haven't sold any of your shares.

Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP): Set up an SWP to automatically redeem your mutual fund units regularly. By keeping withdrawals below Rs. 1 lakh per year, you may avoid LTCG tax altogether.

ELSS funds are also called tax saving schemes since they offer tax exemption of up to Rs. 150,000 from your annual taxable income under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. As the name suggests, an ELSS fund is an equity-oriented scheme with a mandatory lock-in period of three years.

Distributions and your taxes

If you have mutual funds in these types of accounts, you pay taxes only when earnings or pre-tax contributions are withdrawn. This information will usually be reported on Form 1099-R.

How long should you hold an ETF? ›

Holding an ETF for longer than a year may get you a more favorable capital gains tax rate when you sell your investment.

Mutual funds and ETFs may hold stocks, bonds, or commodities. Both can track indexes, but ETFs tend to be more cost-effective and liquid since they trade on exchanges like shares of stock. Mutual funds can offer active management and greater regulatory oversight at a higher cost and only allow transactions once daily.

That means the tax hit from winning stock bets is postponed until the investor sells the ETF, a perk holders of mutual funds, hedge funds and individual brokerage accounts don't typically enjoy. The ETF tax loophole works only on capital gains, though.

Hold Funds in a Retirement Account

This means you can sell shares of your mutual fund or collect a capital gains distribution without paying the relevant taxes so long as you keep the money in that retirement account. You will ultimately owe any related taxes once you withdraw the money, of course.

When you make a withdrawal from a mutual fund that is in a taxable account, you'll owe taxes based on how long you've owned those shares. Profits on shares held a year or less are taxed at the rate for short-term capital gains, which is the same as the rate on your other income and might be as high as 37%.

Lower costs: Although it's not guaranteed, ETFs often have lower total expense ratios than competing mutual funds, for a simple reason: when you buy shares of a mutual fund directly from the mutual fund company, that company must handle a great deal of paperwork—recording who you are and where you live—and sending you ...

ETFs expense ratios generally are lower than mutual funds, particularly when compared to actively managed mutual funds that invest a good deal in research to find the best investments.

However, like fees on mutual fund, those paid on ETFs are indirectly tax deductible because they reduce the net income flowed through to ETF investors to report on their tax returns. Other non-deductible expenses include: Interest on money borrowed to invest in investments that can only earn capital gains.