When an investment declines in value after purchase, it’s generally considered a bad thing.  For investors who know their tax rules, however, capital losses have a silver lining.  Each year, the IRS lets you use investment losses to offset an unlimited amount of capital gains and up to $3,000 of ordinary income.  By strategically harvesting capital losses instead of simply absorbing them, opportunistic investors can soften the blow of declining investments and boost their long-term returns. [...]

Intelligent investors focus on controlling costs.  Choosing low-expense funds and a low-commission broker is a great start, but for many investors, the largest investment cost of all is taxes.  If you have a taxable investment account, Uncle Sam is eventually going to claim a share of your returns, but there are steps that you can take to minimize the damage.  By understanding how taxes affect your investments and intelligently dividing funds between taxable and tax-sheltered accounts, you can maximize your after-tax returns and increase your chances of reaching your investment goals. [...]