What's the Difference Between Capital Gains and a Dividend?

Investopedia published an article that asks “Capital Gains vs. Dividend Income: What's the Difference?” The article looks at the differences between capital gains and dividend income, and their tax implications.

Capital is the initial sum invested. A capital gain is a profit you get when an investment is sold for a higher price than the original purchase price. An investor doesn’t realize a gain, until an investment is sold for a profit.

On the other hand, dividends are assets paid out of the profits of a corporation to the stockholders. The dividends an investor receives aren’t gains. This is treated as income for that tax year.

A capital gain is the increase in the value of a capital asset—either an investment or real estate—that gives it a higher value than the purchase price. A capital loss happens, when there’s a decrease in the capital asset value as compared to the asset's purchase price. There is no capital loss until the asset is sold at a discount.

A dividend is a “reward” or “bonus” that’s given to shareholders who’ve invested in a company's equity. It is usually from the company's net profits. Most profits are kept within the company as retained earnings, representing money to be used for ongoing and future business activities. However, the rest is often disbursed to shareholders as a dividend.

Taxes. Capital gains and dividends are taxed differently. Dividends are going to be either ordinary or qualified and taxed accordingly. However, gains are taxed based on whether they are seen as short-term or long-term holdings. A gains is deemed short-term, if the asset that was sold after being held for less than a year. Short-term capital-gains are taxed as ordinary income for the year. Assets held for more than a year before being sold, are considered long-term gains upon sale. The tax is on the net gains for the year. Net capital gains are calculated, by subtracting capital losses from capital gains for the year. For many, the tax rate for gains will be less than 15%.

Dividends are usually paid as cash. However, they can also be in the form of property or stock. Dividends can be ordinary or qualified. Ordinary dividends are taxable and must be declared as income, but qualified dividends are taxed at a lower capital gains rate. When a corporation returns capital to a shareholder, it’s not considered a dividend. It reduces the shareholder's stock in the company. When a stock basis is reduced to zero through the return of capital, any non-dividend distribution is considered a gain and will be taxed as such.

Reference: Investopedia (April 11, 2019) “Capital Gains vs. Dividend Income: What's the Difference?”