How WealthTrace estimates dividends and capital gains in the current year
It's June 30th and this year is halfway over. How does the program estimate what my dividends and capital gains were prior to today in order to determine the correct tax rate?
In the current year, the program will estimate the previous dividends and capital gains in the year based on the projected dividends and capital gains for the rest of the year and what the date is. Example: It's June 30th and the projected dividends are $5,000 for the rest of the year and the projected capital gains are $10,000. Because we are halfway through the year, the dividends used to calculate the dividend tax rate will be 5,000 * 2 = 10,000 and the capital gains used for the tax rate will be 10,000 * 2 = 20,000.
It is important to point out that we only need to do this in the current year. All other years are based on a full calendar year and therefore we don't need to gross up the dividend and capital gains amounts.