Amount, But What Is It, And What Length Constitutes A "short Term"?

Q: Could someone tell me or direct me to a page that lists the percentages for short term capital gains? I know you pay a higher amount, but what is it, and what length constitutes a "short term"?

A: >>Could someone tell me or direct me to a page that lists the >>percentages for short term capital gains? I know you pay a higher >>amount, but what is it, and what length constitutes a "short term"? >In the US, the dividing line is one year. Buy a stock or fund on >(say) April 3 2002, sell it April 4 2003, and any gain or loss is >"long term". Sell it two days earlier and the gain or loss is >"short term". (I have never actually dealt with one held *exactly* >one year and am not sure which side of the line that is.) It's a standard trick question in my tax classes. Long-term property has a holding period of More Than One Year. So you might think that if you buy on April 3 2002 and sell on April 3 2003 this is more than one year. But there is another rule that states the holding period begins on the calendar day after the purchase date. So the stock bought April 3 began its holding period April 4 and the following April 3 is exactly one year and so is short term. >For completeness, a capsule summary: >Short-term gains and losses are combined on Form 1040, Schedule D; >long-term

gains and losses are also combined; and the net short-term >gain or loss is mostly like ordinary income, while any net long-term >gain or loss has special tax treatment. There's an important imtermediate step: After combining all short term gains & losses to get net short term gain/loss, and after comnining all long term gains & losses to get net long term gain/loss, on line 17 of schdule D you combine net short term and net klong term gain/loss to get overall net gain/loss. If the result is a gain, only the portion of that gain that is long-term gain receives favored tax treatment. Any other gain from line 17 receives ordinary income treatment.