Tom Herman answers a reader's question about the holding period for capital-gains tax purposes.

Tom Herman answers a reader's question about whether the amount of capital losses you can claim will change this year or not.

A U.S. appeals court upheld the IRS ruling against two Texas lawyers who used a tax-shelter strategy referred to as "Son of Boss," which is "a category of complex tax maneuvers designed to generate huge losses with little risk to the investor."

The top rate for capital gains is 15 percent for investors in the two highest income tax brackets. It is scheduled to end at the close of 2010 and revert to the Clinton-era level of 20 percent. I cover what the rules are likely to be for 2011 and beyond.

The once popular $7 billion tenant-in-common market of property investment has suffered drastically as a result of troubled times in commercial real estate.

Originally proposed in hopes of stimulating the post-immediate 9/11 economy, a plea to lawmakers which would defer the annual long-term capital gains tax could hold wide scale economic promise for middle-class families during today's recession.

Selling stock holdings to avoid the capital-gains-tax-load and possibly prevent significant financial loss may be the only silver lining of this tanking market.

While ETF's generally protect their investors from capital gains on holdings, this year a Rydex Investment's "inverse" ETF looks to saddle investors with unusually large taxable gains.

Jennifer Openshaw breaks down each presidential candidate's tax plans, as well as their recent proposals regarding retirement funds.

Now might be a good time to get rid of losing funds before you get hit with taxes on year-end capital-gains distributions. But if you're a bargain-hunter getting back in the market now, here are some points to keep in mind.