The ease of buying and selling exchange-traded funds (ETFs), along with their low transaction costs, offer investors an efficient portfolio-enhancing tool. Tax efficiency is another important part of their appeal. Investors need to understand the tax consequences of ETFs so that they can be proactive with their strategies.

We'll begin by exploring the tax rules that apply to ETFs and the exceptions you should be aware of, and then we will show you some money-saving tax strategies that can help you get a high return and beat the market.

Taxes on ETFs

ETFs enjoy a more favorable tax treatment than mutual funds due to their unique structure. ETFs create and redeem shares with in-kind transactions that are not considered sales. As a result, they do not create taxable events. However, when you sell an ETF, the trade triggers a taxable event. Whether it is a long-term or short-term capital gain or loss depends on how long the ETF was held. In the United States, to receive long-term capital gains treatment, you must hold an ETF for more than one year. If you hold the security for one year or less, then it will receive short-term capital gains treatment.

Dividends and Interest Payment Taxes

Dividends and interest payments from ETFs are taxed similarly to income from the underlying stocks or bonds inside them. For U.S. taxpayers, this income needs to be reported on form 1099-DIV. If you earn a profit by selling an ETF, they are taxed like the underlying stocks or bonds as well.

ETFs held for more than a year are taxed at the long-term capital gains rate, which goes up to 20%. Individuals with substantial income from investing may also pay an additional 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT). ETFs held for less than a year are taxed at ordinary income rates, with the top end of that range at 37%, plus an additional 3.8% NIIT for some investors.

As with stocks, with ETFs, you are subject to the wash-sale rules if you sell an ETF for a loss and then buy it back within 30 days. A wash sale occurs when you sell or trade a security at a loss, and then within 30 days of the sale you:

• Buy a substantially identical ETF;
• Acquire a substantially identical ETF in a fully taxable trade; or
• Acquire a contract or option to buy a substantially identical ETF.

If your loss was disallowed because of the wash-sale rules, you should add the disallowed loss to the cost of the new ETF. This increases your basis in the new ETF. This adjustment postpones the loss deduction until the disposition of the new ETF. Your holding period for the new ETF begins on the same day as the holding period of the ETF that was sold.

Many ETFs generate dividends from the stocks they hold. Ordinary (taxable) dividends are the most common type of distribution from a corporation. According to the IRS, you can assume that any dividend you receive on common or preferred stock is an ordinary dividend unless the paying corporation tells you otherwise. These dividends are taxed when paid by the ETF.

Qualified dividends are subject to the same maximum tax rate that applies to net capital gains. Your ETF provider should tell you whether the dividends that have been paid are ordinary or qualified.

Exceptions - Currency, Futures, and Metals

As in just about everything, there are exceptions to the general tax rules for ETFs. An excellent way to think about these exceptions is to know the tax rules for the sector. ETFs that fit into certain sectors follow the tax rules for the sector rather than the general tax rules. Currencies, futures, and metals are the sectors that receive special tax treatment.

Currency ETFs

Most currency ETFs are in the form of grantor trusts. This means the profit from the trust creates a tax liability for the ETF shareholder, which is taxed as ordinary income. They do not receive any special treatment, such as long-term capital gains, even if you hold the ETF for several years. Since currency ETFs trade in currency pairs, the taxing authorities may assume that these trades take place over short periods.

Futures ETFs

These funds trade commodities, stocks, Treasury bonds, and currencies. For example, Invesco DB Agriculture ETF (DBA) invests in futures contracts of the agricultural commodities — corn, wheat, soybeans, and sugar - not the underlying commodities. Gains and losses on the futures within the ETF are treated for tax purposes as 60% long-term and 40% short-term regardless of how long the ETF held the contracts. Further, ETFs that trade futures follow mark-to-market rules at year-end. This means that unrealized gains at the end of the year are taxed as though they were sold.

Metals ETFs

If you trade or invest in gold, silver, or platinum bullion, the tax authorities consider it a "collectible" for tax purposes. The same applies to ETFs that trade or hold gold, silver, or platinum. As a collectible, if your gain is short-term, then it is taxed as ordinary income. If your gain is earned for more than one year, then you are taxed at a capital gains rate of up to 28%. This means that you cannot take advantage of normal capital gains tax rates on investments in ETFs that invest in gold, silver, or platinum. Your ETF provider will inform you what is considered short-term and what is considered long-term gains or losses.

Tax Strategies Using ETFs

ETFs lend themselves to effective tax-planning strategies, especially if you have a blend of stocks and ETFs in your portfolio. One common strategy is to close out positions that have losses before their one-year anniversary. You then keep positions that have gains for more than one year. This way, your gains receive long-term capital gains treatment, lowering your tax liability. Of course, this applies for stocks as well as ETFs.

In another situation, you might own an ETF in a sector you believe will perform well, but the market has pulled all sectors down, giving you a small loss. You are reluctant to sell because you think the sector will rebound and you could miss the gain due to wash-sale rules. In this case, you can sell the current ETF and buy another that uses a similar but different index. This way, you still have exposure to the favorable sector, but you can take the loss on the original ETF for tax purposes.

ETFs are a useful tool for year-end tax planning. For example, you own a collection of stocks in the materials and healthcare sectors that are at a loss. However, you believe that these sectors are poised to beat the market during the next year. The strategy is to sell the stocks for a loss and then purchase sector ETFs which still give you exposure to the sector.

The Bottom Line

Investors who use ETFs in their portfolios can add to their returns if they understand the tax consequences of their ETFs. Due to their unique characteristics, many ETFs offer investors opportunities to defer taxes until they are sold, similar to owning stocks. Also, as you approach the one-year anniversary of your purchase of the fund, you should consider selling those with losses before their first anniversary to take advantage of the short-term capital loss. Similarly, you should consider holding those ETFs with gains past their first anniversary to take advantage of the lower long-term capital gains tax rates.

ETFs that invest in currencies, metals, and futures do not follow the general tax rules. Rather, as a general rule, they follow the tax rules of the underlying asset, which usually results in short-term gain tax treatment. This knowledge should help investors with their tax planning.