When you’re subject to capital gains taxation, the government shares in some of the upside, but when you have capital losses, the government shares in the downside too. Because of this, the actual risk (and reward) of any given portfolio is lower than it seems. To counteract this, you should consider shifting your allocation toward riskier assets.

Sketchnote titled "The Government Is Your Silent Partner": three panels showing (1) on gains, they take ~20%; (2) on losses, they give some back; (3) so your real risk is only the 80% you bear.

Read more

The United States has a strange (legal) tax loophole where you can double-count capital gains when donating securities (with some restrictions): If you buy a stock, the value goes up, and you’ve held it for at least a year, you can donate it and claim a tax deduction on the current market value instead of the value of what you paid for it (the cost basis), and you don’t pay taxes on the gains.

Sketchnote: a stock bought for $15k rises to $30k in value, then splits into two coins — one dropped into a charity donation box labeled "deduct $30k", the other landing on a crossed-out IRS form labeled "skip the gains tax".

Read more